Bond of a Cousin
by A-Giant-Fan
Summary: Felix Agreste has seen magic at work. It's part of the reason he became a secret agent. He never thought it would involve unmasking superheroes. There is NO backing down from the mission: if he is to apprehend Ladybug, Chat Noir and HawkMoth, he may just have to become one of them...but the cost of bringing peace to Paris could shatter the one thing he thought he knew - his family.
1. Choose to Accept

"You have entered District 21, Agent Agreste. The briefing will now commence."

Felix adjusted his tie and leaned back in the leather seat, glancing out the tinted windows as the holographic driver turned left to pass a large school. Anyone who cast a glance back would see nothing more than a sleek black limousine. He ran a hand over his platinum blonde hair and turned his eyes back to the large screen popping out of the roof. With a click there appeared on the other end a woman of thin stature and not a cell out of place, black hair in two buns and dark eyes examining Felix in his entirety. Then she took a breath and brushed a fleck of dust off the shoulder of her navy blue suit.

"I take it the limousine's holographic projection and computer voicing are running?"

Felix almost managed a smirk. Almost. Then he remembered that he was being addressed by the head of Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation and Extraction Sector, Ms. Hiarthanu. "My destination will be reached without incident."

She clasped her hands together without a sound. "I expect you to have already become familiar with the dire situation befalling Paris, France."

Of course he was familiar. No one gathered vital information faster than Agent Agreste. He felt the need, a need born out of pride, to straighten his shoulders in her presence. "The arrival of self-proclaimed superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir, and villainous counterpart HawkMoth, have brought about a surge in criminal activity. Prior investigations have connected all accounts of destruction to a form of long-range hypnosis and a transfer of seemingly unlimited meta-abilities."

She gave a sharp nod. "Research indicates the events to be spread over a span of ten months, one week and four days."

"We have yet to intervene?"

"Preparation for sending in an agent has been rigorous. I leave you to the briefing. One of our private sponsors is on the other line." Her image clicked off, replaced by a beige folder. Felix relaxed again, a weakness of his when out of her sight. Ms. Hiarthanu may have been young, but like himself, she had steely eyes and an almost inhuman lack of fear.

"Open folder and initiate briefing."

The folder flipped open. Images from newspaper articles and online blogs popped up as a huge, organised collage: Ladybug fighting, Chat Noir subduing, and crowds cheering. The voice of the limousine spoke up through hidden speakers. "Shall I begin without interruption, Agent Agreste?"

He winced. That was a jab from the technicians back home. His habit of asking questions galore during briefings was coming back to bite him. "Of course."

An image of the superhero duo enlarged. "Subjects in question: Ladybug and Chat Noir, French tenth graders whose work has an 87.43% location focus in the 21st District of Paris, France." An image of a large gathering purple butterflies, in the shape of a masked face, took the left side. "Current threat: HawkMoth, unknown assailant with a 96.21% chance of being located in the 21st District of Paris, France. Wanted for blackmail, kidnapping, burglary, attempted manslaughter, attempted murder-"

The voice went on to list over a dozen different crimes. Felix opened his mouth to ask how the victims, those transformed, were being dealt with, but kept quiet for the sake of his reputation. Besides, he figured those hypnotized and empowered by HawkMoth were left in the dark due to having no recollection of said crimes.

"Current chance of encountering HawkMoth during your time in the 21st District of Paris, France is calculated at 34.78% - the highest of all S.P.I.E.S. agents."

If he hadn't spent five years learning to keep his emotions under control he would have shown some form of annoyance. "I was chosen for this mission because Ms. Hiarthanu suspects that I am the most likely to apprehend HawkMoth…by first drawing him out."

"I have been programmed to tell you not to be insulted, Agent Agreste. S.P.I.E.S. has their full trust in your skills." An image of a blurry purple butterfly flying towards the school he'd passed popped up. "Victims are infected by an unspecified species of butterfly. Footage gathered from security systems has yet to locate an origin point."

The limousine was coming to its destination. Felix knew his luggage would have arrived ahead and his guest room would be prepared. His ride stopped just before the final road turn and put the brakes on. A list of objectives overtook the screen. "Your mission, Agent Agreste, authorized by the heads of S.P.I.E.S., cannot be refused: locate the alternate identities of Ladybug, Chat Noir and HawkMoth without revealing your own. Apprehend HawkMoth for extraction. Gather any and all evidence of their relations to the supernatural group known as Kwami."

"Kwami? There was no mention of a…a _Kwami_ in your briefing."

The voice did not give him an answer. Instead the screen clicked again to one of S.P.I.E.S' top researchers, Mr. Noital, as his usual disheveled self. He sat at a table covered in a scattering of papers and tools. He kept his wild orange curls back with a pair of cracked goggles and stared at Felix through the screen. "Ah, there you are, Agent Agreste."

"Tell me you have information regarding this Kwami group."

The screen rose as a panel slid back on the floor. A long tray sprung up with a varied selection of equipment. Felix had seen movies as a child where secret agents were given super special tools of justice, from phones in shoes to camera the size of pinkies. Mr. Noital had obsessed over them and made every impossible spy tool a reality, no matter the absurdity. He got familiar with the tools as Ms. Noital gave him the basics. The researcher looked happier today than he had at his wedding.

"It took some serious investigation in over a hundred countries, but S.P.I.E.S. has finally found the source of the powers of our Parisian vigilantes and their devious defiant – soon they shall have no secrets to hide from us."

 **It feels like forever since I've written a ML fanfic! I've been tinkering with this idea for a while now. Just to be clear, this Felix is not the same Felix from my "Quantic Squad" trilogy. He is an entirely new take on the character...well, occupation wise. He's still pretty stern and calculating. Think ML meets James Bond, kinda. Chapters willed be released when possible, as I am heading out to camp in the next few days, but I promise to keep things updated!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	2. Magic Memento

Felix made sure the signal jammer in his loafers was on and the extendable cameras were tucked away in the laces. "Mr. Noital, are these vigilantes and their 'defiant' connected to the Illuminati, as you previously assumed?"

"That was merely a humorous hypothesis. Kwami are mystical creatures located in inanimate objects wielded or worn by their chosen human partners."

He slipped on a special watch that told the time, date, and temperature, and could record sound for up to ten hours. "Are we dealing with demons or fairies?"

"Neither. Kwami are an entirely new species of magical creature. Sets of Kwami are protected and spread out by Masters, but we have yet to actually meet any. See if you can locate the Master of Ladybug and Chat Noir while you're out in the field."

He slipped the hands-free phone into his ear; the ability to record conversations up to a mile away and communicating in any language with anyone around the world was too important to leave behind. "Where do these Kwami originate?"

"Seems they originally came from ancient China, but that could be off by as many as a hundred years or so. Whenever and wherever they come from, you will be interacting with them at some point before you return home."

Felix knew he would not be _allowed_ home until he did. He gathered the remaining tools: tie clip flashlight, invisible fingerprint coverings, security system scanning contacts, voice copying pen, and a belt that hid away a grappling hook. Add in his bulletproof tie and wisdom tooth filled with poison should he be caught, and he was a walking spy cliché. All that was left was the final tool, one he did not recognize. He grabbed the small black box. "Explain, Mr. Noital."

Mr. Noital grinned. "I trust you to take great care with that. You are the first agent to be given such a privilege. While gathering information regarding the Kwami, we came across a particular 'trinket' hidden away in a small temple off the shores of Italy."

Felix opened the box. Inside laid a dark brown tie pin adjourned by a miniscule leaf carving. "So what can your 'trinket' accomplish?"

Mr. Noital made a long pout. "Unfortunately, as soon as you put that on it becomes _your_ trinket, not mine. Hidden within the confines of that leaf is your own Kwami – good luck getting it to come out for a chat, though. Last time I managed to bring it out the poor thing nearly had a heart attack and hid away."

Felix cocked an eyebrow. "You decided to trust me with a live being of ancient magic?"

A low growl erupted from Mr. Noital's end, bringing a grin to his face. "I have enough aliens and monsters here to deal with already. Besides, the Kwami will now have a great distrust for the researchers of S.P.I.E.S., meaning you are a clean slate. Also," he glanced back and forth before leaning into the camera, "Ms. Hiarthanu said this would give you the chance to improve on your social skills."

"I resent that."

"Naturally. Look, the Kwami called it a miraculous, an item it's been bound to. It will allow you, the wielder, to transform and perform the same feats as those Parisian heroes. The specifics can only be learned from the Kwami, though, so good luck."

Felix removed the tie pin from the box and adjusted it on his tie. "Alright, so now I have to work with a mystical being in addition to everything else S.P.I.E.S. has burdened me with."

"Hey, hey, hey! S.P.I.E.S. has ears everywhere. If they hear you complaining…well, let's just say that complaints are sent straight to the guys up top…the guys who deal with traitors." He shuddered. "You show any signs of going rogue or lacking trust in this sector, and your name is wiped from more than just your birth certificate."

Felix traced his finger over the leaf miraculous. This was a bigger briefing than he had come prepared for. He worked alone. A partner, one who uses magic, was not in the plan. He would do all he could with just the tools he was trained for. "I assure you that I have full faith in S.P.I.E.S. I _will_ succeed."

The researcher sighed, rubbed his eyes, and gave a small wave. The screen blinked off and slid back into the roof, and the panel on the floor sucked the table with the miraculous box back down. The limousine pulled up in front of the mansion. "We will be in contact," the voice said as the door opened. "Good luck, Agent Agreste."

Felix stepped out of the limousine, which quickly pulled away and down the road. It would be on one of S.P.I.E.S.'s boats and back in America by the following the morning. He gazed up at the large gate keeping pedestrians as far from the building as possible. His fingers traced over the leaf again.

"…Are you in there, Kwami?"

For a moment he could have sworn the miraculous grew warm.

"…Another time, then."

A camera poked out of the wall and looked him over. "Welcome, Felix Agreste."

"You must be Natalie, Uncle Gabriel's new assistant. A pleasure."

"Your stuff has been moved to your room," she said as the gates opened, "and Adrien is in his bedroom waiting for your arrival."

Adrien and Gabriel Agreste. Felix had not been in contact with them in over five years. His own father had been travelling the world as a soldier in the Marines, which left him free to secretly join S.P.I.E.S. He had kept up with the family, sending letters and following their social media, so he knew how the family was doing. He knew Uncle Gabriel would be busy with work. He knew Adrien was attending school now.

He knew he would not be seeing Aunt Tiffany this visitation. She had vanished a year ago.

But no body had been found yet.

No evidence that she was out of the picture yet.

 **This is technically the second part of the prologue of the story, so now most of the background information is out of the way. Doesn't mean I'm not leaving you guys without questions! What happens to S.P.I.E.S. agents who are caught complaining? What type of creature is Felix's Kwami partner? (It took me over an hour to find an animal not yet used by other people's OC's). Does he have any idea what could have happened to Tiffany (made up a name since she doesn't have one yet) Agreste? All will be answered eventually, but first we get ready for a family reunion.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	3. Cousin Chatter

"Felix!"

His thoughts were interrupted as he walked up to the front doors of Agreste mansion. Adrien ran outside, down the steps and up to him, until their noses were only inches apart. He pulled Felix in for the big hug. "How long has it been?"

"Five years, two months, one week-"

Adrien pulled back and chuckled. "Same as always. What on earth has kept you from visiting for over five years?"

Now that would have been quite the conversation starter. Felix could only imagine the reaction he would get from Adrien if he told him the truth: had S.P.I.E.S agents not been watching him due to his family's wealth, he would have grown up completely alone.

"…School work. I have been very busy with school work."

Adrien frowned. "Wow. I started going to school last year, but I never thought there would be that much work. Then again, you are in your last year of high school." His frown flipped into a grin. "You have to tell me all about it! We can go to my room!"

The Agreste mansion had not changed much since his last visit half a decade before, though he could not ignore the large picture of Uncle Gabriel and Adrien hanging atop the stairs. Natalie strode out to greet them with clipboard in hand. "Seeing as how it is Saturday today, Adrien, I would suggest taking your free time to show Felix around. I have lots of work to do and your father will not be out of the office until dinner."

"I'll start with a tour of my room," Adrien explained as they ascended the steps, "since father let me redecorate it a few years ago."

Adrien had a mild recollection of the small and minimalist room Adrien kept the last time he had been there. "I imagine it has not changed too much over the years."

Adrien stopped outside the door and sheepishly grinned. "Well…" He led the way inside, where Felix had to catch his breath. "I mean, I may have gone a bit overboard."

Oh, how he would have enjoyed berating his cousin for the overstatement. It was like Uncle Gabriel had built his son an amusement park: arcade games, large flat screen, rock climbing wall, basketball net, etc. It was a complete one eighty of what he had been used to. It was enormous, filing up the entire room…

Then it struck him, and he relaxed. Uncle Gabriel was trying to compensate for what he could not replace. Felix's eyes fell to the three computer screens beside the large bed. Aunt Tiffany was the image on all three, smiling into the camera. He looked back to Adrien, who was waiting for his reaction. "…I have truly never seen anything so wondrous."

"I knew you would like it!"

'Like' was a strong word in that case, but Felix felt it better not to go dragging their thoughts on the room out. Instead they moved to the couch and sat down. The view from the large windows went as far as the wall. Elegant. "Tell me," Felix asked, "do you really have enough time to enjoy everything in here? I would think you have too many friends to spend time with outside the confines of the house."

Adrien leaned back, lost in fond memories. "That is partially true. I have some great friends, like Nino, Marinette, Alya and Chloe."

"The Bourgeois girl?" Felix had only met her a few times, when she was over at the Agreste mansion for a visit. He recalled her being a boisterous child that survived off sassy stances, even on things she could not understand. "How is she doing?"

"Fine, if a bit…I don't know," he shrugged, "she can bit a little mean to the other students."

"Probably a territorial thing."

"Come again?"

Felix made a similar shrug. He was out of practice and it felt unjointed. "Her father is the Mayor of Paris and her mother, well, was a victim of that terrible crash years ago. If I were in the same position, and were as bossy as she tended to be, I would also do everything I could to be on top of others."

"…Come again?"

He sighed. It was a slight downgrade moving from conversation with researchers to students. "I believe Chloe Bourgeois is afraid of gaining an inferiority complex, thus she builds herself up so high that she has developed a _superiority_ complex."

Adrien thought on it for a moment. "You know, that makes a lot of sense. I suppose I should be there for her more. I tend to get swept away doing what the others are doing." He sat back up and smiled. "Enough about me. I can always introduce you to the others. How long are you here?"

"Thirty days."

"An entire month! Plenty of time to meet Nino! So how about you, Felix? What have you been up to these past five years, two months…uh…?"

Felix had an answer. It was the same answer he gave anyone who started asking questions. "For the past five years I have been involved in various extracurricular activities at St. Paul's Private Academy for the Gifted."

"What sort of activities could keep you so busy? I know Uncle Justin has been in the Marines all these years, but surely he would let you fly over here on your own."

"I wish I had the time before, but up until a few weeks ago my schedule was facing an issue of overcrowding from funding events, yearbook, conservations projects, student government, mail services, and so on." He let his emotions slip by a fraction. "I am sorry for not being in contact as frequently, Adrien."

His cousin gave him a smile that was tinged with sadness. It gave Felix a feeling he had only felt a few times in his work: guilt. "It's fine. I understand. It's just been pretty lonely up here, ever since…"

There was no need for words. They had both lost their mothers to strange circumstances. As they sat together in silence, Felix found his mind wandering to the fateful day he first realized magic was real.

The day he, too, had lost his own mother.

 **Man, the amount of mothers this show has out of the picture ;-; so yes, this Felix is similar to "Quantic Squad" Felix, but I assure you that the stories will be taking very different approaches to the Miraculous situation. It really is great being able to write more for the ML fandom. I want to get this story out before my super busy term comes (Three lit. classes, a poetry workshop AND a cinema history course!). I promise I will not be leaving this story hanging until it is completely wrapped up and finished.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	4. Backstory Breaks My Heart

**FIVE YEARS PRIOR**

It was the perfect family vacation, ending at the Grand Canyon. Felix was twelve and more than eager to peer as far over the railing as he could. His father was a few feet away, talking to his brother Gabriel on the phone about his booming fashion business. Mother was at Felix's side, brown hair in a bun and blue dress fluttering in the breeze. She held his hand to make sure he wouldn't fall through the railing. She was always being so cautious.

"Hold on," his father was walking back to the building, "I'm starting to lose you."

Felix gave his mother a smile. "Next time, can we bring Uncle Gabriel to see the canyon? And Aunt Tiffany and Adrien, too." It had only been a few weeks since they had gone to visit them in Pair, but he was dying to explore with his cousin again.

"That would be wonderful," she replied with an equally bright smile, "and then we can take them for a long drive and…and…," her gaze shifted back to the canyon, "…do you hear that, Felix?"

"Hear what? The wind?"

She leaned farther over the railing. It was starting to make him nervous. "The wind…something is being carried on the wind…voices from down below…"

He looked down but saw nothing beyond the rock. He heard nothing but the wind as it began to howl. "Mother, maybe you should step back and take a deep breath-!"

She let his hand go and began climbing up the railing, preciously balancing on her toes atop the metal. Felix gawked. "M-Mother, get down from there!"

Her eyes were glazed over. "I can hear them calling, Felix. I have to…I have to go down there. I have been invited."

In desperation he grabbed the trim of her dress. "Stop it, mother!" He looked back for dad, who was still chatting on the phone. Other tourists were taking notice, though, and a few began to scream. A man inside was racing towards the doors, waving for attention.

Finally dad looked their way, eyes wide as he dropped the phone. "Cordelia?!"

Felix went to call out again when his thoughts were interrupted by the lowest grumbling. Slowly he turned back to the railing. A pair of pale arms with dainty fingers and strange markings up the arms were gripping the metal. _Inhuman_ arms were reaching up his mother's legs. The sight of the arms, the smell of thick dust, and the sound of the grumbling shocked him so bad that he lost his grip on her dress. "Mons-"

He made out its face, a beautiful woman with long red locks and glowing brown eyes. Bug-like wings were keeping her in the air. She was too pretty to be a monster. At least, that was what he had thought in those precious few milliseconds.

Then she yanked his mother over the edge.

" _NO_!" Felix leaned over the railing and reached out for her, for anything to grab onto, but the strange woman was too fast. She let his mother fall out of her grasp while she hovered in the air, cackling. His mother was falling in a daze. More winged women were popping out of small crevices in the canyon. The wind was beginning to sing.

"Another one, another one, join the fun, join the fun!"

His mother's shape was growing smaller. " _Mother! MOTHER_!" His face was stained with tears as they streamed off his chin. "Save her, please! _PLEASE_!" He looked back to his father, who was frozen in shock. All of the tourists, even the man from inside, were frozen in place. Some covered their mouths while others nearly fell to their knees. "Dad, we have to-"

He would only learn later in his time training under S.P.I.E.S. what happened next. A great wind filled with magic shot up out of the canyon, plowing Felix face first into the ground and sweeping over the tourists. He bit his lips too hard and they started to bleed; it had been his blood that had warded off the magic. He sat up, the only one in the Grand Canyon that had not been hypnotized by the fairies. Unfortunately he had not known that at the time.

"Dad," he raced over as the tourists were shaking their heads, "we have to call the police! We have to send a search party down there! And I-I saw women, w-women with wings! They took her and-and-and we need to…dad, are you even listening to me?!"

His dad gave his head a quick shake and placed a hand on Felix's shoulder. "Calm down, now, son, and tell me what on earth the matter is."

"Wha- mother fell down the canyon!"

"Mother?" He had the audacity, in his hypnotized state, to laugh. "Felix, you sly dog, you, going and trying to set your old man up on a date, are you?"

Felix's heart nearly stopped then and there. He looked to the tourists but found no one freaking out anymore. In fact, everyone was going about their business as usual. There were no fairies in the canyon now. "W-W-What is happening?"

His father took his hand and dragged him into the building. The man who had previously been racing to help was now waving them goodbye as if nothing had happened. "What is happening, you ask? We are heading home this instance so I can quit my job. I need to get ready for my time in the Marines now, you hear?"

He hadn't heard. He couldn't have heard right. "Marines?" His voice was squeaky as he choked on his tears. "But mother is still-"

They were already in the parking lot heading for the car. "Felix, you know your mother ran away to join a Lebanese circus after falling in love with the lion tamer. I miss her, too, but we need to move on with our lives."

A small breeze tickled the back of Felix's neck, and everything went numb. Dad had not noticed his bloody lip or the disappearance of Cordelia. The tourists were not calling 9-1-1 or trying to help save her. Somehow that tiny breeze told him that no matter what he did, no one was ever going to believe him.

As his dad started the car, Felix in the passenger seat, looking out the window, he spotted a long green van parked in the corner of the lot. A woman in dark sunglasses locked eyes with him and began to sign out a message. He knew sign language and quickly translated in his head.

 _Fairies?_

Winged women. Tricksters. He had read about them in school. Yes. It had to be fairies. He gave her a nod. She signed back as the car pulled out onto the street. He would carry what she told him for the next month, until his father left him home alone to join the Marines.

 _Wait for us._

 **Turns out I can post chapters every couple days up here at camp, but if when I have time available to make it to one of the hot spots -_- anyway, with this chapter I was hoping to set Felix up as a character who gets involved in all sorts of magical situations. Think of him as a wanderer between Zagtoon productions - _Miraculous Ladybug, Pixie,_ etc. Maybe someday I could write more stories with him in the other shows.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	5. Akuma-Matata Mean Many Worries

**PRESENT**

"Felix?"

He snapped back to reality to find Adrien twisting a thick white ring on his right hand. His eyes were far too dreary. "How did you handle it?"

Answering was a conundrum. He had handled the disappearance of his mother by joining a secret organization that dealt in aliens and magic, training for five years to become an agent that lived beyond the grasp of the government. Felix had doubts that Adrien would take such a reply well. He would have to once again dive into clichés.

"I had my friends and my family. I talked when I needed to vent, and I spent time doing what would have made her proud."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It certainly will not be easy." His eyes drifted to the computer screens. "This is going to feel impossible most of the time. That is where friends and family come in, as well as school and work."

Slowly the dreariness in his eyes melted away, and Adrien sat up with a determined smile. "I can do that. I have been doing that. Even if father is a lot stricter that he used to be, I have my friends at school and my career to focus on until…" The statement trailed off, forever unfinished aloud but clear in their minds.

 _Until she returns._

Felix found Aunt Tiffany vanishing unexplainable, and that was what scared him the most. The unexplained. The facts he didn't have. Like the facts he didn't have when his mother vanished. It was likely a long shot, but…if fairies could be living in the Grand Canyon, stealing away women and erasing the memories from others, then could there not be fairies living in Paris?

Could Aunt Tiffany be another victim?

"You do that a lot, Felix, huh?"

"Do what?"

"Get lost in your thoughts." Adrien chuckled. "You remind me of Marinette."

"Would I recognize her?"

"Her family runs a small bakery beside the school. Marinette is amazing! You should see the things she creates, and the way she can lead the entire class, and how she is always putting others before herself, and-"

Felix felt like he was caught in another briefing. First Marinette, then the many positives of Nino and Alya, then Maylene and Ivan, through every class member until he was rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Anyone else in the city you would care to elaborate on?"

Adrien clearly had not caught the sarcasm. "We have a new student, Lila." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I think she may have a crush on me. Ladybug…well, they kind of got into a fight, and now poor Lila feels like an outcast. What should I do?"

Ah, yet another conundrum. Felix knew how to take down trolls, pick dwarven locks, track down fairies and incapacitate an entire bank within five minutes. Giving advice on girl troubles was not part of the S.P.I.E.S. handbook. "I suppose the best course of action would be to include her in everything you and your friends do. Bring her into the group as soon as possible, and let her know that all is forgiven."

"And if she isn't ready to forgive Ladybug yet?"

This was an astounding development in the mission; it took great strength not to give a smug smile. Ladybug not only interacted with victims, but she was also the center of certain dilemmas. He really was dealing with children in masks. "Give her time to adjust."

Adrien sighed and smiled. "You're right. I wish I was as patient as you."

The rest of the afternoon was spent exploring the mansion and talking about various school projects the boys had yet to complete. Felix had to make up over a dozen different anthropology essays to quench Adrien's curiosity, and he ended up hearing all about the many English stories his cousin was forced to sit through. After learning about the existence of alternate dimensions, he was not quite ready yet to deem all fairy tale characters fictitious.

* * *

Dinner that evening was filled with short but pleasant conversation. Uncle Gabriel spoke of the latest quarter for his fashion business while Adrien relived embarrassing moments from school. It wasn't until the topic shifted to HawkMoth that things got interesting.

"I sure hope I'm never akumatized."

Felix put his fork down and stared at Adrien. "You hope you're never what?"

"It is a term students are using now," Uncle Gabriel explained with great distaste, despite the wonderful seasoning on the chicken, "to describe how one is turned evil."

Adrien finished his salad off and shook his head. "It's more complicated than that, father. The other students and I have seen it happen. A dark butterfly catches someone who is sad or angry, and they turn into a villain and work for HawkMoth, until Ladybug and Chat Noir come in and save the day. No one but them can ever hope to top an akuma!"

"An akuma?"

"The students refer to any victims of HawkMoth as akumas."

This was absurd. How could the researchers back home have missed such vital terminology in the briefing? If students were using these terms then they should have been picked up on social media at some point in the past year. He was going to have to have a long chat with Mr. Noital the next day when he was alone. In fact, he had two people to question in the comings days.

"Oh," Adrien watched Felix rise from his seat, "are you done?"

Felix gave Uncle Gabriel a bow. "I thank you for the wonderful meal, but it has been a long day and I would like to catch up on my sleep for tomorrow."

Uncle Gabriel nodded. "Of course. I expect you will be out enjoying the sights?"

"If that does not get in your way."

"No, it does not."

With a wave to Adrien he was up the stairs and entering the guest room. The bedsheets and curtains were white to blend in with the light grey dresser, closet, desk and bedframe. His bags were in the corner waiting to be unpacked. He locked the door behind him, turned the desk lamp on, and removed the leaf tie pin.

It was time to meet his Kwami.

 **Yahoo, I sort of have internet in my camp suite :D makes posting chapters a lot easier. If anything happens I'll try to let you guys know as soon as possible, but for now it looks like I can keep posting chapters every other day or so. And come next chapter you guys get to meet my new OC Kwami. Let's hope Felix comes to enjoy his company as much as I enjoy writing their growing relationship.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	6. Camm On

Most lessons for amateur S.P.I.E.S. agents involved communications with beings of supernatural and extraterrestrial origins. Felix had studied them all and was now fluent in over ten different alien languages, not that anyone outside the sector would believe him. However, none of those languages could prepare him for trying to pry a Kwami out of its miraculous.

"…Um…Excuse me?"

Silence.

"…There are no researchers here."

No response.

"We are currently alone, you and I."

Nothing.

"I see." Felix decided that he should be extra cautious when dealing with the unknown. He spent the next two minutes scanning the guest room for cameras and bugs. From one of his luggage bags he pulled out a thin foam strip that he placed at the bottom of the door; this would keep any and all things said in his room from escaping into the hall. He pulled the curtains shut and sat back down at the desk. It was just him and the miraculous now.

From what Mr. Noital has told him, a Kwami was not a species yet registered in the S.P.I.E.S. database. He was not trying to communicate with a fairy or alien or ghost…perhaps an amalgamation of the three. He crossed his arms and straightened his posture. He was still unsure whether or not it was watching. Time to lay out all his cards.

"Greetings, Kwami. I am Agent Agreste of the Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation and Extraction Sector. I have been sent here to Paris to investigate and extract the miraculous of vigilantes Ladybug, Chat Noir and HawkMoth, as well as make contact with their Master."

There was a tiny glimmer in the tip of the leaf.

"I understand that you were shocked by your awakening in the labs. I apologize for not being there to provide guidance. I assure you that there will be no researchers attempting to perform tests on you while in my possession. However, in exchange for your security, I require basic knowledge of your origin and purpose."

For a long moment the miraculous did nothing but glimmer. Felix felt ridiculous talking to an object rather than face to face with the Kwami. Then again, how many times had he practiced his interrogation skills on cardboard dummies?

"…You promise not to hurt me?"

Felix was more so amused by the softness of the voice emanating from the miraculous than startled. One in his line of work could not be startled. It led to mistakes. Mistakes led to disasters. Disasters led to worldwide panic and chaos. "I promise not to bring any harm to your persons."

"…Pinky promise?"

"Impossible unless we both possess physical pinkies." He was dealing with a child. It meant that Mr. Noital had sent him an infant for a partner on one of his most important missions. "Come out so we can speak easier."

The rim of the tie pin shone a bright beige, and from it shot a glowing orb of energy that hovered above the desk. It dissipated to reveal a small creature floating over the miraculous. Felix had not seen anything like it: A round head with wide red eyes, thin black slits for pupils, with tiny fins for hands and feet, and a long leaf-like tail. It was speckled with dark orange and brown spots all over its body. It also had tiny bumps on its head and spine.

Felix studied the creature intensely. There was something vaguely familiar about its skin. The way it was spotted, and the leaf-like tail… "Tell me, Kwami-"

"Uh," it raised its tiny hand, "my name is Cammo."

"Alright, Cammo. Tell me, are all Kwami the same in appearance?"

"You really want to know everything?"

Felix nodded. Cammo slowly settled himself on the desk edge in front of the miraculous. He was nervous but willing. "I suppose I should start from the beginning."

"A wise decision."

And so for the next hour Felix patiently listened and recorded whatever Cammo said. What he learned was beyond fascinating: there were hundreds of miraculous, set into families, which are all guarded by separate Masters before being handed to chosen warriors. They have existed for thousands of years, created by great magic that bound spirits, Kwamis, to the items. Everything S.P.I.E.S. thought they knew about the Kwami was just scratching the surface.

"Each of us shares characteristics with an earthly animal," Cammo began wrapping up his lecture, "whether it be mammal, bird, fish, reptilian or amphibian."

"I see." Felix stood. He needed to pace. It cleared his thoughts and gave him short but necessary bursts of exercise. "That would explain the costumes choices of Ladybug and Chat Noir…but HawkMoth seems to work with butterflies. What makes him so different?"

Cammo tilted his head. "Ladybug? HawkMoth?" His tail swished back and forth. "Never heard of them. I've been asleep in that Italian temple for over twenty years."

"How did you come to be separated from your family set?"

"I will not be the only one. Often times Masters are robbed or…well, they die in the line of duty. I was stolen from my Master and shipped all the way to Italy."

Felix froze. "Where did you originate?"

"Madagascar."

It was so obvious. He had been on a mission to Madagascar three years ago, investigating an infestation of ancestral ghosts. He pulled out his thin laptop from one of his bags and opened it on the desk. Cammo sat beside the keypad as he pulled up the internet and did a quick search. "I should have recognized your appearance right away."

"You already know what I am?"

The image of a shrieking lizard with bulging red eyes filled the screen, nearly giving Cammo a heart attack. He rolled back off the desk and onto Felix's lap. "W-W-What is that?!"

"You. At least, this is the species you are based on."

Cammo peeked up over the keypad. "I've only seen cute pictures of my animal."

Felix sighed. This was as good a start as any. He knew then what his Kwami was. "You, my new and innocent partner, are the spiritual interpretation of a Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko, one of the four different variations of the Leaf-Tailed Gecko of Madagascar."

 **I know, I was REALLY stretching for a unique species to use for a Kwami, but you should see how many OC's are out there! I mean, it's wonderful that the show is so popular, and it gets people's creative juices flowing so well, but finding different animals to use is becoming as much a challenge as actually creating your own characters.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	7. Red and Round, Uh Oh

Felix felt that sleep was the next item on his agenda for the day. Cammo was still nervous around him, and he had learned more in one evening that he had hoped to accomplish in the week. He would remove the foam from beneath the door in the morning, and quickly got about to changing. As soon as he was finished in the bathroom, having spent five minutes listening to Adrien sighing with his tooth brush, he was back in the room and plugging his laptop in. It was top of the line, impenetrable to even the best hackers in Paris.

"So," Cammo was still exploring the room as Felix put his luggage away and moved clothing into the spare dresser, "do we…you…you and I, live here now?"

"We are here for thirty days, unless I fail my mission, which would then make the city our permanent residence."

"Am I an agent now?"

Felix sat cross-legged on his bed for meditation. "Not until you complete training and master all procedures. S.P.I.E.S has multiple humans, animals, aliens and monsters currently working out in the field. I suppose a Kwami would make an ideal agent, with your ability to gift others with powers."

Cammo flew down onto his knee. "I thought I was _your_ partner?"

How many conundrums could an agent face in one day? Felix rubbed his temples. It was true that Mr. Noital had bestowed the miraculous to him, but surely he was not expected to keep it to himself. How long would this partnership last? Until he died? "Cammo, how to the partnerships between Kwami and chosen usually work?"

"Well, the Master chooses a human who is brave and kind and willing to fight for justice. Kwami rest in the miraculous until our partner needs our help. We then become part of them, powering them with magic unique to each Kwami. Every hero has a certain set of powers and a special move, but as soon as the special moved is used then the hero only has a limited amount of time before we're separated and their identities are revealed."

"I assume you recharge inside the miraculous?"

"And with our favourite foods." Cammo rubbed his stomach and licked his lips. "Mine is roasted nuts."

Felix glanced at the tie pin, hidden inside a glasses case that also held his contacts; it could only be opened by a five digit code. "Can you get into the miraculous without opening the lock?"

"Kwami phase through solid objects when we focus hard enough."

"The miraculous slightly changed colour when you first appeared out of it…do miraculous have a different appearance between when one is a hero and when one is not?"

"Tiny aspects are altered, to hide the miraculous in plain sight."

"Hm…I need to meditate on this. Will you sleep in your miraculous? If anyone enters the room and spots you, we will be in trouble."

Cammo nodded and vanished back into the glasses case. Felix shut his eyes and slowed his breathing. All the facts and pieces of information he had gathered that day flooded his mind like a torrent, so he spent the next ten minutes sorting everything out into mind maps. Then, as he felt himself growing tired, he decided to sleep on a list. His dreams would only consist of everything he needed to accomplish:

1\. Locate Parisian Master for interrogation. Brute force unlikely but possible.

2\. Being training with Cammo miraculous for emergency confrontations.

3\. Locate and detain miraculous belonging to Ladybug. Mind wipe may be necessary.

4\. Locate and detain miraculous belonging to Char Noir. Mind wipe may be necessary.

5\. Locate and detain miraculous belonging to HawkMoth. Prepare for extraction and arrest. Mind wipe necessary.

6\. Gather all evidence of Kwami and miraculous and remove from Paris without the notice of government or law officials.

Felix finished his meditations and, turning off the lights, slipped under the covers and began to fall asleep.

"…Oh, right."

7\. Attempt to survive all contacts. If proven an impossible task, bite down on poison tooth as instructed and take secrets to grave.

* * *

"Here we are, Felix: the Dupain-Cheng Bakery!"

After waking early in the morning and heading out of the mansion with Adrien in the limo, his yet to be named bodyguard solemnly driving them up to the school, the duo stepped out and crossed the street. Just as Adrien had said, a small bakery sat on the corner an apartment attached atop. Felix spotted a large man working behind the register as they entered. "Ah," he smiled at them, "good morning, Adrien!"

"Good morning, Mr. Dupain-Cheng! My bodyguard is just circling the block. I was hoping to buy him some raisin bread." Adrien guided Felix to the counter. "This is my cousin Felix. I was hoping to introduce him to Marinette."

Felix noticed a woman of Asian features step out from the back door. She bowed to the boys and took the arm of the man. "Marinette is right upstairs if you want to go see her. We can get your raisin bread done in no time."

Adrien practically tripped up the stairs in excitement, while Felix slowed to a descent pace and got lost in his thoughts. He wore the tie pin once again, but now it felt like a whole new weight. Cammo had told him something so vital that he was now constantly on alert.

 _Tiny aspects are altered. I am not looking for a black ring with a paw print, or earrings with black spots. I could very well be looking for just a black ring, or red earrings…or they could be different colours. The shape should relatively be the same though, so…thick ring with a square top, and round, likely red, earrings._

"Here," Adrien knocked on the apartment door as Felix joined him atop the stairs, "now you can meet Marinette before we find Nino and the others."

"How many others?"

He chuckled. "Enough."

The door opened to reveal a young girl with blue pigtails, gawking at Adrien. "A-A-Adrien! I-I never expected you here!"

The sight of the girl sent a ripple through Felix's spine. Not because she was pretty or seemed a tad bit too nervous at their arrival. No…

It was her round, red earrings.

 **Felix knows something is up, and it isn't just when the stuttering Marinette is doing. I was not going to keep him waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up before having speculations as to their identities. He is a professional agent, after all, and such things cannot go unnoticed. Don't worry, Ladybug and Chat Noir will be showing up...wonder how they would do with training someone with a new miraculous...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	8. Felix You Sly Gecko You

Felix Agreste did not work off of guesses, estimations or assumptions if he could help it. He was a man of facts. Even magic had its rules. It was a well-known fact that the shape of a circle and the colour red were both popular aspects of jewellery. Many girls were born with hair that had a tinge of navy blue. Blue eyes were one of the most common shades of an iris in the world. White skin was also common amongst Parisians.

 _Two young student aged girls with blue pigtails, red earrings, blue eyes and white skin, however, can be deduced as highly uncommon. It could be seen as rare, even, to find two so similar within the same district._

Marinette clumsily let them in and shut the door behind. "I-I- thought we were all meeting at the school steps in ten minutes!" Finally she noticed Felix standing by the bookshelf. "Oh, I don't think we've met before."

Adrien was more than happy to begin introductions. "Marinette, this is my cousin Felix. He lives in America and attends a private school. He came out this month for a vacation."

Felix held his hand out, which she nervously shook a little too fast and hard. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Adrien has certainly filled me in on your character."

Her cheeks flushed as red as her earrings. "W-W-W-W-ow! R-R-Really?!"

 _No spots_ , he noted as Marinette flew back to the kitchen to grab a picnic basket, mumbling all the while, _and she lacks the confidence Ladybug displays. I would call it an act if I had not been trained to read body language so efficiently._

"Felix and I wanted to walk with you to school."

"Of course! Let me just grab the food! Rose had a great idea with this stair way picnic!"

"It certainly is unique."

"Well, so is she and her super positive attitude."

They were ready in seconds. Adrien opened the door for Marinette. "You coming, Felix?"

"…I only need to quickly use the washroom."

Marinette nodded. "Of course. The door right there."

"Thank you. I think I can find my way to the school after."

Adrien laughed. "I would hope so, or your classes at private school have been dulling your sense of directions." He followed Marinette out and shut the door behind them.

"…Cammo."

His Kwami flew out of the tie pin and looked around. "Whoa. After being in my miraculous for so many years, it feels strange seeing such new technologies." He hovered over to the fridge. "Since when did these become so sleek?"

"Come back for a moment. I wish to test a theory." Once Cammo was back in front of him Felix focused his contacts on the Kwami. "On the ride here I scanned the city for any potential threats. A few pedestrians were showing signs of agitation, but no signs of akumas."

"Akumas? Oh, no," Cammo gasped, "you never mentioned akumas!"

"Have you encountered them before?"

"No, but all Kwamis are warned about akumas."

Felix turned his phone on for recording. "What do Kwami know about akumas?"

"Akumas are the powers of a Kwami turned bad. If someone steals a miraculous and uses its magic for evil, then akumas are formed. They feed off of malice and negative emotions. If there are enough of them, they can create worldwide devastation!" Cammo began hyperventilating. "When you said you were hunting down vigilantes, I did not think you meant we would be after akumas, too!"

"Compose yourself." Felix opened a small, hidden pocket on his belt and pulled out a nearly invisible camera the size of a dime. "If Ladybug and Chat Noir can rid victims of akumas without any lingering side-effects, then certainly your powers can do the same?"

Cammo took a dozen deep breaths as Felix made his way to the stairs behind the fridge. "Well, I suppose so. Any miraculous can harness enough positive energy to remove the negative from Kwami magic, so yes, I could…uh, where are you going?"

Felix was already opening the hatch and stepping into Marinette's bedroom. It was filled with tools for sowing and fashion designs, as well as multiple pictures of Adrien from past magazines. It did not take Felix's years of training to figure out why she had been so nervous around his cousin. "This is a descent lead in my investigation. If Marinette Dupain-Cheng has any connection to Ladybug, then she will reveal something while in the privacy of her own room." He moved to the computer and placed the camera up in the corner above. "Not even a Kwami will be able to sense this."

Cammo popped his head up through the hatch. "Are you sure this is legal? And what are the chances that the first girl you meet in Paris is Ladybug?"

"One, it is not legal. S.P.I.E.S. does not work in legal terms. Seconds, chance is a powerful and natural ratio that has proven to be most helpful in previous assignments. Now return down. I am about to do a thermal scan of this room, and your interference will alter the reception the contacts make with any heat signatures."

"Oh! Sure."

As soon as the Kwami was gone, Felix stood in the center of the room and did a 360° turn. What he found had him smirking as he returned down the stairs and out of the apartment. Cammo slipped through the shut door and onto his shoulder atop the stairs. "Did you find anything?"

"Return to your miraculous. I will explain everything back home."

Reluctantly Cammo hid away again. Felix stepped through the bakery to find Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng finishing up with another customer. "Oh, you must be Adrien's cousin," the wife said as he rounded the counter. "I do hope you enjoy your time here in Paris."

"I hope it to be an eventful stay."

They waved as he exited the shop. He saw Marinette and Adrien on the school stairs, waiting for him and other students.

 _So, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, just what do you know about Kwami?_

 **Uh oh, Marinette, you've got a secret agent on your tail, and he will not be backing down until he knows the truth! So how far do you guys think Felix will be interfering with Ladybug and Chat Noir? How long until he confronts them? When will he figure out the truth about Chat Noir? Actually, not very long. Just get ready for things to start getting crazy now.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	9. Go Fish, Agent Agreste

"Rose, got any threes?"

"Aww, you took half my hand, Maylene!"

"Juleka, got any fives?"

"Go fish, Kim."

"Again?!"

"Sabrina, give me your twos."

"Chloe, I already told you, I have no more twos."

"Oh, as if!"

Felix was astounded at how…resourceful the classmates were being. Adrien, Marinette and all their friends were sitting in an awkward circle on the school steps, sharing food and playing a huge game of Go Fish as best as any fifteen or so people could. He stood at the side, watching with fascination while Nino and Alya bickered over who had asked Nathanael for his eights first. It reminded him of wolverines fighting for dominance.

"Felix," Adrien pat a spot beside him and Lila, "come and join in! You and I can share a hand if you like."

Lila nodded. "You look like such a loner over there by yourself. I swear this class can be cool if it really tries." On this remark she got half a dozen grapes thrown her way, followed by the class bursting into laughter. "I mean, I wasn't lying, was I?!"

Reluctantly Felix came and gracefully sat himself between the two, glancing at the other students as they reached for each other's cards. Felix had given him a list of their names, and his memory was as keen and sharp as ever, but something about the entire group felt…off.

No…not just the group.

All of Paris felt strange to him. It could have been because he had not seen the city in over five years, but there was almost a thickness to the air. Pollution rates were down in the city, as well, so he was left feelings…unsure of his predicament. Was there something about the 21st District he was unaware of?

"Felix," Lila nudged him, "I asked if you had any fours."

"Ah," he took a four from Adrien's hand, "of course. Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts."

"I get it." She placed the card and its pair at her knees. "I find myself getting lost in my thoughts all the time. Gets me in trouble, though…" she gave Adrien a wary glance before returning her eyes to her hand. Felix saw no need to press further into the matter. Instead he took the time to do a little investigating. With a rub of his eyes his contacts were back to thermal scanning. "Oh," Lila murmured, "got allergies?"

"No, simply an eyelash caught in the lids."

What he had not told Cammo in the Dupain-Cheng apartment was how many heat signatures were strewn about Marinette's bedroom. Clearly she was in constant contact with a Kwami, and if that was so, either she herself was Ladybug, or one of her friends was. He looked from student to student and began to fit the pieces together.

"Marinette, got any fives?"

"You got me again, Alya."

"Girl, I have played this game for years with my sisters. No one bests Alya at Go Fish."

"No one but your sisters."

Alya was the closest friend Marinette had in the classroom. While she did not show as many signatures as Marinette, there were fading patches on various parts of her body. She had been in contact without knowing it. The rest of the girls were less likely to have any idea what a Kwami was, so it greatly narrowed his search. Felix slowly turned to study the boys, when-

"Adrien, you and Felix got any ones?"

Adrien tossed a one to Ivan. "You are really good at this game."

"Maylene and I have been playing it at home."

Maylene blushed. "It is one of my favourite games."

Adrien smiled, but when he noticed Felix's expression he frowned. "Something wrong, Felix?" he caught his cousin staring at his hand. "Do you think I can still win?"

The problem was not with the cards he held, however. Felix was not staring at the cards. He was staring at Adrien's literal hand – more specifically, the thick white ring with the square top on his right hand. The ring he had simply glanced over back at the Agreste Mansion. A ring that was giving off impossibly high thermal readings of a Kwami.

"Felix? Are you alright? You look a little pale."

He put a finger up to the phone on his ear.

 _Ring-ring!_

"Excuse me," he stood and walked over to the waterside across the street, "I have to take this." He waited until the class was turned back to one another before letting the phone go. It was not a call coming through: every agent phone had an emergency ring to get them out of unwanted interrogations. He leaned over the side and stared into the waters. It kept him from letting his professionalism down and freaking out.

Adrien Agreste was the owner of a miraculous.

There was no other valid explanation. The ring was his and it was practically glowing with the same energy Cammo gave off. He glanced back at Marinette, staring at her earrings. They, too, were giving off the same glow. In less than twenty-four hours he had located two of the three miraculous holders he had been sent to find. How had no other agents been able to find them as quickly as he? Was it just luck that he had come upon them on his second day while out on the mission?

This was bad. Not for S.P.I.E.S. No, it could be only days until they got the answer they sent him to look for. His mission was halfway finished. No, this was bad for him. He had been tasked with retrieving the miraculous. He turned back to see his cousin giving Marinette a big smile. She was quick to return the gesture. Felix could not bring himself to even think of smiling.

This was the part of the job he hated. Aliens who had families with humans, men and women who were turned into werewolves against their will, children whose pets were actually mutants: how many people had he broken by simply doing his job?

 **Now comes the hard part of any agent's job - completing the mission. Felix will have to make a big decision in these upcoming chapters if he is to finish what S.P.I.E.S. has started. Good thing he has his own miraculous on hand...but just how will working with Cammo play out? Still working out the kinks in his abilities, but I promise that you will be seeing a suited up Felix quite soon!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	10. Getting the Camera Creepies

Once the afternoon was finished and the class was splitting up to head back home, Felix stood by Adrien and watched a limo for Chloe pull up. "Wonderful to see you after all these years," she kissed him on the cheek as though they were old friends, "and I hope we see each other soon!" She and Sabrina slipped into the limo and it pulled away, leaving him slightly unnerved. She was far more controlling than he remembered.

Alya and Nino headed off with a wave. "We have to do this again sometime!"

"And dude, we totally need to bring some killer music!"

Marinette and Lila giggled. "Come on," she pulled Marinette back to the bakery, "we still have to set up for our sleepover tonight."

"Okay." She gave Adrien and Felix a big wave. "See you guys later!"

Adrien waved back. "Later."

Lila basically had to drag Marinette away at this point, which Felix took as his cue to turn Adrien back to the road. "I have called Natalie for a ride. Your bodyguard should be here momentarily. If he takes his job seriously, that is."

"How harsh."

"He was supposed to be doing circles around the perimeter, but I saw your limo across the bridge in the direction of a small coffee shop. Highly risky in a business like his."

"He works hard enough. I don't mind him taking a break every now and then. Father really does make him and Natalie do a lot."

"They are paid to do a lot."

"I know, but…ever since mom left, he had been really, really, really, really, really-"

Felix silenced him with the swipe of a hand. "Understood."

"…How did Uncle Justin take Aunt Cordelia disappearing?"

Under the Mesmer he had taken it quite well, but Felix was not about to tell his cousin such a thing, so instead he merely slumped his shoulders an inched. "He was heartbroken. The Marines are what brought him back. They give him purpose while she is away…and perhaps he hopes he can find her out at sea." Part of Felix hoped that would be the case, but no sea connected to the Grand Canyon.

The limo pulled up and let the boys in. On the way back home Felix once again found himself staring at the ring. His contacts were finished scanning for thermal but he felt drawn to it. Not to keep it or steal it away, but because it was on his own cousin's finger. Of all the people in Paris to have a miraculous, it ended up being Adrien and a friend of his.

Adrien noticed him staring again. "Oh, this?" He held the ring up for a better look. "I, uh, got it from a small antique shop."

Felix knew he was lying from the way he would not make eye contact and the shortness of breath he suddenly had. Whether or not he had gotten it from the Master in a shop or on the road meant little. The fact that he had met the Master was enough. "I had not realized there was an antique shop in the 21st District."

"Um, it may have been one outside the district. I have a hard time remembering, it was so small and so long ago."

The bodyguard was looking at them through the rear-view mirror. Felix smiled. He would not be asking too many questions in front of a third party. "I think it suits you."

Adrien nodded, relieved that the questions were over. They rode the rest of the way in silence. It gave Felix time to think.

To think of a way to steal the miraculous.

* * *

On his second night in Paris Felix felt sure enough of the secrecy of the guest room, with the thin stick of foam beneath the door. He pulled out his laptop and brought up the view of the camera he had placed in Marinette's room. Cammo popped out of the tie pin he still wore and sat on the back of his left hand. "This feels wrong."

"Most part of being an S.P.I.E.S agent revolve around doing what most people consider wrong. It is not for the fainthearted."

Cammo poked his own chest. "Wonder if I have a faint heart."

The resolution was crystal clear. Marinette and Lila sat in pink and green pajamas respectively, laid out on a mess of blankets and eating cookies. Nothing out of the ordinary yet, but he had the whole night to wait.

Eventually Lila stood and moved to a box of dolls. She picked up the ladybug doll and ran one of her fingers over the fabric. Felix noted the way she examined it before tossing it back in the box. She glanced in the camera's direction for a moment but showed no signs of actually noticing it. Not surprising. Only agents were trained to notice. "Too much Ladybug here, if you ask me," her voice rang out clear through the camera's miniature microphone, "but I suppose I'm the only one in Paris who is not a fan."

Marinette fixed her pigtails. "Come on, Lila, you have to forgive her. Ladybug apologized, you told me so, remember?"

Lila slumped back down to her stomach and grabbed a cookie. "Yeah, but it still hurt. She was so mean!"

"Well, you did lie."

She hid her face in the blankets. Marinette sighed. After a few seconds Lila sat back up with a smile on. "Forget about Ladybug. You and I are going to paint our nails."

"Of course," Marinette smirked, grabbing a small red nailbrush, "but you are _so_ getting red with black spots!"

"Ugh," Lila ran around the bedroom, Marinette chasing after her, "not on your life!" They were laughing and tripping over the blankets.

Cammo smiled. "How nice…?" He flew up to the screen and pointed. "Hey, Felix, why is that box shaking?"

Felix leaned in. On her desk was a small pink box with a lock, and it was indeed shaking on its own.

"Well," he said, "I believe we are about to have an encounter."

 **He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake...wonder how Felix would react to meeting the real Santa Claus. And man, planning out five separate fanfictions is insane! This one, _Dance of the Trickster_ , and _MMMQS_ are constantly on my mind. Where will the characters go? How will they each defeat HawkMoth? Who is truly behind the masks? And with my term coming up, and being put in charge of my church's preschool worship for the next year...oh boy ;-;**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	11. Who Even Needs a Name?

Sure enough, from out of the box popped a tiny red head with little antennae. "Oh, oh," Cammo swooned, "there she is!"

Felix cocked an eyebrow. "Do you recognize that Kwami?"

"I do!" Cammo would not take his eyes off the screen as the Kwami quickly gave the girls a look and vanished back into the box. "Her name is Tikki! Oh, Tikki…"

A startling development was happening before Felix. He turned the camera on his watch on and began to record Cammo. His reactions were important for further diagnostics. "From the way you speak of this Tikki, may I assume that you hold feelings for her?"

Cammo slid down to the keys, hands over his chest. "She is from a different set of miraculous, but we have met many times over the centuries. Every hero she is partnered with is so kind and brave, but it is her that I have always felt is the true hero! No Kwami is more courageous, more generous, or more determined than Tikki!"

Felix was impressed at how expressive the Kwami was. It meant that each and every Kwami had their own distinct personality. The chance of their powers being altered depending on their state of mind was huge. He needed to make contact with a second Kwami for verification, however, and it had to be quick. He had the address. He knew when they would be asleep. "Cammo, now is the time for some work experience."

"How so?"

Felix shut the camera on his watch off. "Tonight we meet an old friend of yours."

* * *

Breaking into the Agreste mansion was near impossible unless one was gifted with inhuman strength and knowledge of the layout. Breaking _out_ of the Agreste mansion was even harder. Uncle Gabriel would have nothing moving in or out of his home at night. Felix was left with little other choice, though. He would be under the watchful eye of Adrien, his bodyguard, Natalie and his uncle come the sunrise. He stood beside the bed in a grey pajama tank and pants. Cammo was yawning but aware, sitting beside the tie pin on the desk. Moonlight streamed through the window. The foam stick was cutting out sound beneath the door.

"How do I activate the miraculous?" It was the only way to get around the security system while remaining undercover. He had done a quick scan around the entire mansion before bed. There were cameras everywhere, solid metal plates over every door (fortunately windows were only covered in emergencies), and laser beams blocking all stairways until six in the morning. He was left with no secrecy but his guest room. The Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko was known for its ability to camouflage and climb flat objects such as trees and rocks. If he could use the same abilities to escape… "We will need to hurry."

Cammo smiled. "So you really want to be my chosen?"

"If it means getting out of here with none the wiser."

"Excellent!" The Kwami flew up and began to pace in the air before Felix. "Then listen well. I am about to tell you everything you will need to know. We can't talk while you are in the costume, so you should ask any and all questions before you say the special words."

Felix nodded, slightly caught off guard by how serious Cammo had become. He would need to give the Kwami more credit. "I am listening."

Cammo giggled. "Good, good!"

Well, perhaps not too much credit.

"To begin with, activating the miraculous requires you to state aloud 'blend in', but only when you want to transform. Once transformed I will be inside the miraculous and cannot speak to you until you de-transform, which only happens when you use your special move. When in costume, you as the Madagascar leaf-tailed gecko miraculous have the ability to climb flat surfaces at any angle, turn invisible by holding your breath, jump as high as buildings, and use your leaf tail as a weapon. The tail can be used as a shield and megaphone for your sonic hisses."

"Sonic hissing? Ah, to replicate the gecko's scare tactics with predators."

"Exactly! Experience will be the only way to master these skills. Now, when you run into real trouble, you have to use your special move: place your hand on the tie pin, call out 'sensation', and release a terrifying hiss that will create a momentary illusion before your enemies, forcing them into their worst nightmares!"

"That is…quite grim."

Cammo swayed and giggled some more. "I know. My last chosen told me the same thing…and the one before that…and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one before that, and the one-"

"Now that I understand the basics," Felix cut him off before they found themselves caught in a loop the entire night, "may I take it out for a test run?"

"What about your superhero name?"

"At a later date."

The Kwami pouted. "Promise not to take things too hard? There have been accidents before with the chosen getting a little too excited and hurting themselves…and others."

"I am not a child, Cammo. Now," he picked the tie pin up and hooked it into his shirt, "to find your dear friend." He spoke as loud as he could without waking anyone; no louder than any gentlemen could let themselves speak, of course. "BLEND IN!"

Cammo flung himself into the miraculous as it began to glow. In seconds Felix found himself wearing a foreign outfit unlike anything he had ever seen, let alone worn: a dark brown suit with black spots over his chest and the front of his legs, a leaf-like tail hanging from a thin belt, and a mask covering his eyes. He glanced in a mirror in the back corner: his eyes appeared larger and fully red, his black irises now slits.

He was now just like Ladybug and Chat Noir in terms of power.

And just like HawkMoth in terms of goal…

Stealing miraculous.

 **Turned 21 today. Golly, time flies when one is having fun...and working on stories. But at least we got to see Felix in his new outfit today, too! I wanted his attire to be reminiscent of the gecko in terms of colour and the tail, but working in the big red eyes was irresistible. Just imagine him running around with those who eyeballs 0.0 think Chat Noir eyes but with an extra few inches. Almost alien like...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	12. The Climb, the Close Call, and the Catch

Cammo had given Felix the basics on how his miraculous abilities would work, so it was up to him to find a way to use them. He had to leave the Agreste mansion without anyone, human or security system, notice his disappearance. He gave his new suit a closer look. The scales on his fingers appeared to be stickier if he focused. His sight was enhanced, allowing him to see in the dark. He held his breath for ten seconds and vanished from the mirror's reflection.

It was new and he was unprepared, but there was nothing else he could continue the mission with and he was running out of night. Moving to the window he examined the frame. No latches. How could he open it without the main mansion control? His eyes fell to his hands again. He thought back to the geckos he had come across during his mission in Madagascar. They had claws…so if he focused hard enough…

 _Swish!_

On each finger grew a thin but sturdy claw that seemed to be made of silver bone. Carefully he traced it along the glass rim, and with a gentle push he was able to slide the entire panel out onto his bed. He would place it back with untraceable glue afterwards. With the guest room being on the second floor he would have to climb down, across the yard, and up over the wall. He could hold his breath for eight minutes. It would only take two to get out of the mansion.

"Alright, Cammo," he instinctively checked to make sure the now beige miraculous was still on his chest, just below the shoulder bones, "do not let these powers fail me."

First was the invisibility. He took in a deep breath and held it, without the usually puff of the cheeks. His entire body vanished from sight, blending into whatever colours he passed over.

Second was the climbing. He reached his arm out over the window ledge and placed his fingers on the wall. Heading straight towards the ground would feel extremely unnatural, even with his training, but the other choice was attempting his first inhuman jump. How embarrassing. He let the importance of the mission overtake his senses.

Third was the escape. Felix took it slow, crawling down the wall as his tail swayed over his back. As soon as he touched the ground he slipped across the cement yard and up the outer wall. It was quick and painless, save for the headache he had from moving so quickly. He was not trained for performing such acrobatics.

Only when he was over the wall and standing on the sidewalk did he let his breath out. It took two minutes to vacate the premises, exactly as he had estimated. Now he was out in the middle of Paris in a miraculous suit, ready to attempt contact with another Kwami that belonged to a Parisian student, completely unaware of his true motives. It was causing his headache to really become a distraction.

He took a leap of faith and ended up atop the roof of a nearby apartment building. Onward to the Dupain-Cheng's.

* * *

On his way to the bakery, Felix was able to learn a few more things about his miraculous powers. His tail could be used as a small parachute for lighter landings. He could control which hand and foot became sticky. His hissing could scare off strays. It made his trip to his destination fast and efficient, and within ten minutes he was outside the school. Everything was dark save for the streetlights, not that the light was needed with his enhanced vision. The entire scene before him was visible…including the figure on the balcony.

She should have been asleep.

Leaning over the railing with her hair flowing in the evening wind, Lila gazed out at the moon as her smile grew. Felix had seen such an expression on other agents and clientele before. For some reason she was reminiscing. It was going to make entering the apartment without being noticed much harder. He was about to plan out a way to sneak in, when a closer look at Lila brought up an old memory.

Wait…her…Lila…where had he seen that face before?

Felix rarely let his thoughts distract him, but the headache was making it quite easy.

He recognized her, not just from today, but…from somewhere else…

He did not make mistakes when it came to identity recognition. Lila had the similarities – no, the familiarities – of a previous encounter during his time as an agent. It could mean disaster for the mission if she was related to a previously arrested or removed supernatural or paranormal entity. It could mean interference.

It could mean his failure and banishment from America.

Felix ran over and climbed up the building, holding his breath and slipping onto the balcony. She did not look back. Something in the sky had all her attention. He glanced at the hatch on the floor that led into Marinette's bedroom. From his visit during the day he figured it was overtop her bed and would mean sneaking around her sleeping figure. With Tikki the Kwami still inside the box atop the desk, he would need to enter and leave quickly without arousing either Marinette or the Kwami. If Tikki called for assistance he would be caught. If Marinette awoke then Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng could become involved. If any sort of authority was involved he-

"Still doing their dirty work, Agent Agreste?"

Felix froze for the first time in over eight months; his last moment of shock had been while he was working undercover at a school for Iranian extraterrestrials and finding out that humans were to become part of the cafeteria menu. At a school full of _vegetarian_ extraterrestrials. Here, however, there were no aliens. It was him and Lila, who had now turned to face his invisible self. She continued to smile despite seemingly knowing nothing of his existence.

Until she started talking to him again.

"Nice to meet a fellow agent – well, current agent being caught by an ex-agent, if you want to be specific, which I suppose, knowing your character, is the way you roll…Felix."

 **PLOT TWIST! Lila has a secret past that will play a big role in Felix's mission with the miraculous! I know, I know, this came out of nowhere, but poor Lila has been through so much hate from the fandom for so long, and she is such a cool character, that I just HAD to play around with the idea of secret agents already being established in the Ladybug universe. So, how will ex-agent Lila spin things around for Agent Agreste? What does she know about Paris and its secrets? And what has her so occupied in the skies?**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	13. Liar, Liar, Her Soul is on Fire

It took only seconds for everything Felix remembered about Lila to surface. Now he no longer stood before tenth grader Lila Rossi. Now he stood before ex-Agent Anvers from Washington, who was banished due to complications on a mission with Venusian immigrants. She smirked and leaned against the railing while he attempted to pull himself together. He was losing focus on the mission, what with the sudden revelation and his growing headache.

"So," her words were purposely slurred, "still eating out of their gloved hands?"

"I have no time for your grudge. Tell me what you are doing here."

"My adoptive parents took me in after S.P.I.E.S. banished me from America. We lived in Italy for a couple years and then moved her a few weeks ago due to family. I go to school like a real, normal girl now, making friends and getting on the nerves of superheroes."

"You know that last part is interference-"

"For an agent. I was banished, remember?"

He did remember. He remembered standing in the laboratory with Mr. Noital, going over new inventions, when screaming could be heard over the intercom. Lila was yelling at Ms. Hiarthanu about Venusian regulations. She would not take an alien mother from her half-human children. It was against her moral code.

Her moral code was against S.P.I.E.S. code.

"By the way," she gestured to his suit, "I really dig the new outfit. However, being able to hear your footsteps and catch your shadow – you're camouflaging, not going invisible – could be the cause of future troubles."

This was only the beginning of his troubles. Running into an ex-agent meant that every time he moved in Paris his actions were being watched by someone with insider knowledge. He knew Lila was not the type to back down, either, even if her own life was being threatened. He would mind wipe her if it were not for the fact that mind wiping ex-agents was illegal. They could have important information needed at a later date, information only unlockable by S.P.I.E.S. but would be lost to a mind wipe.

"Face it, Agreste," she shrugged, "I caught you during a mission. If you report it then you will be in serious danger. If I report the both of us will be in trouble. If I report to Marinette then the city will be in trouble."

His headache was pounding against his skull. "What are you suggesting?"

"This is my city now. If anything happens because you aren't used to your new powers, then it means problems arising in my personal life." Her arms crossed. "Let me help you."

"You miss the field."

"Yes. Not why I want to help." She walked over and jabbed her finger into his leaf miraculous. "You may think you're all that because you've been working for, what, five years? Ladybug and Chat Noir are not your regular paranormal entities, Felix…" She dropped her arms to her sides. "Underneath those masks they're regular students."

Of course she knew. She was also wasting his time, but if he left during the conversation she was sure to blow his cover. "If you know this, why bother causing trouble and allowing yourself to be akumatized?"

With one sentence he gained the upper hand, and Lila was caught stumbling with an excuse for her choices. She began to pace around the balcony. "Adrien told you. Of course. You and he are family. Well, yes, I did have a scuffle with Ladybug. In my time here I have taken to becoming a pathological liar, to hide my past as an honest agent."

"You annoyed Ladybug on purpose?"

Lila faced him head on. "Let me get a few things straight: I know that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug, I know that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir, and I am aware my lies caused Marinette to lash out against me. It also caused HawkMoth to choose me as an akuma victim, thus my time as Volpina."

"How did he akumatize you if it was all an act?"

"Simple. I gave into negative emotions so I would truly transform."

"Because…you are weak."

She shot him a look. "Because it gave me the chance to connect to HawkMoth, if only for a few moments."

"And?"

She squirmed in her pajamas. "And…my memories were wiped. I no longer remember the sound of his voice."

Felix could not believe how the night was playing out. Here he was atop a bakery in the middle of the night, speaking to an ex-agent while he wore a magical outfit that gave him gecko-like powers, on his way to stealing another miraculous from the friend of his cousin, who was also a miraculous wielder. The S.P.I.E.S. training manual would have to be updated, and fast, or else he would be having serious negotiations with Ms. Hiarthanu. "Ex-agents do not involve themselves in missions."

She pointed to the sky. "You want to know why the air feels so thick?"

"Of course."

"You want to keep Adrien and Marinette safe?"

"Naturally."

"Then let me help. Marinette and Adrien are my friends." She moved closer to him. Every word was filled with genuine worry. "Let me help stop HawkMoth."

Yet another conundrum. Felix could only imagine the kinds of things Mr. Noital and, to an even greater extent, Ms. Hiarthanu, would be saying if they ever found out he had teamed up with an ex-agent. Especially an ex-agent as boisterous as Lila. The appropriate action would be to deny her request and continue with his mission, detaining her until his work was done. Then he could request a mind wipe. She knew too much.

"Felix." Lila would not let him look away. "Please."

All he had to say was no. All he had to do was detain her.

"I know I was banished. I know you look down on me for not being able to finish the Venusian mission…"

All he had to do was keep on going without her.

"Agent Agreste?"

He looked her right in the eyes.

"…Alright."

 **BOOM! The ultimate team-up between agent and ex-agent! Lila will play a role in the story soon, because I love her character and personality and want only the best for our poor Volpina victim...and for someone to help her overcome her habit of lying to impress. Poor girl. Poor classmates. Anyways, the next chapter is going to have us leaping into some action, so hold onto your seats!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	14. Gecko Vs The Guard of the Gods?

Why had he said that?

Why had he not denied her request?

Why had Felix Agreste just accepted the assistance from ex-Agent Lila Anvers, now Lila Rossi?

Why had he not said _no_?

Lila grinned. "You will not regret this, Agent Agreste. Now, I assume you came here so late at night to retrieve the miraculous?"

Felix crossed his arms. "How do you know so much about the miraculous?"

"I may not be an actual agent, but that doesn't mean I can't use my investigative skills while out and about. As soon as I was enrolled in the school I did a check on the other students. I hacked into security footage of multiple buildings through my father's laptop – he works for security in the forces, you know – and what did I find? Several clips of Marinette and Adrien transforming. Of course I erased them right after and blamed it on a malfunction in the system, but I had seen everything. I also saw your camera in the room this evening, and I did a quick check of the dolls to make sure there were no other microphones."

She triumphantly crossed her arms. Felix was not in the mood to feed her ego. "Alright. Any suggestions on how I should approach the Kwami without alarming it?"

"Will you heed my advice?"

"I asked for it, hence I have plans of utilizing it."

Lila nodded before crouching beside the hatch and pointing at the handle. "Tikki is at the very least aware that Marinette and I are friends. Let me bring her up to date on your mission. She is a magical entity, after all, and is sure to have experience with previous organizations. You would freak her out if you showed up so suddenly, especially so late at night…and in such a strange set of clothing."

Indeed, because Felix had certainly almost forgotten that he was dressed like a gecko with a leaf for a tail. "Fine. She is-"

"In the box atop the desk. I know. I saw her while Marinette and I were eating chips before bed."

"Anything you do not know?"

She had the kind of smirk that could melt any man but him, for he had the training to prevent himself from falling for such feminine charms. "I know next to nothing about the real Felix."

"…Good."

He was sure she was about to give him a smart reply, only for a monstrous howl to cut her off. Both ran to the edge of the balcony railing and peered out over the bridge, the water and all the apartments across the way. Something large was barging around just beyond their sight. "No way would he…," Lila muttered under her breath for a moment before turning to Felix, "we may have a bigger dilemma on our hand than your meeting with Tikki. If those sounds are anything to go by, we definitely have an akuma attack on our hands."

"So late at night?"

"I have yet to learn anything about HawkMoth's identity, but I doubt he lets whether or not the sun is up get in his way…so?" She gave him a hard nudge. "Get out there and fix it while I get Ladybug up. Briefing Tikki can wait until you're ready."

Felix knew he had little experience with his miraculous powers, but Lila was right. If he waited for Tikki to explain further people could be hurt…or worse. "When Marinette leaves with Tikki to transform you have to let them. My brother cannot leave the mansion without alerting Uncle Gabriel, so it will be only us."

Lila nodded. "Hurry up. Akumas are greedy and violent. I should know."

Felix hopped up onto the railing.

"Agent Agreste, Wait."

He turned to Lila as she looked him over. "You need a superhero name. No, I am not trying to waste your time, but if someone asks, you need to blend in with Ladybug."

"Then give me something. Quick." His patience was usually as strong as his mind, but the distant screams and his headache were cutting it short. "Anything will do."

Someone was moaning below the hatch. Marinette was waking up. Lila sighed. "I guess now is a good time as any for our heroine to rise."

"Name. Now."

"Alright, alright!" She pointed to the source of the sounds, across the water and hidden between the tall buildings in the distance. "Defeat the akuma, Gecko!" She gave the French pronunciation with a smug grin. "One of the common languages of Madagascar is French, and we are in Paris."

"Smart," he leapt into the night, "to the point of irritation."

* * *

Creatures dealt with by various agents of S.P.I.E.S. since the beginning of the organization included monsters of mythological origins, from griffins to gorgons to dragons. There weren't actually Greek or Roman or Egyptian gods, or gods from any point in history; those were nothing more than ancient civilizations attempting to explain the world. The same was for mythological beasts of larger roles in the lore, beasts that had been given important tasks by the gods.

There was no Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld that kept spirits from leaving and entering without permission from Hades. Cerberus was a unique specimen created for a sole purpose and thus did not exist in reality.

This is why Felix found himself at a loss for words, standing atop an apartment roof while the akuma bounded down the street below. He was trained for dealing with griffins and gorgons. He was not trained for dealing with the unreal.

"A doggie," a young child screamed from her bedroom window as people began sticking their heads out of the windows, "a doggie with three heads!"

Felix – or, as he would have be known in front of civilians and HawkMoth, Gecko – watched the ginormous beast slobber and growl, crushing cars beneath its huge paws. He would be fighting with no experience, no tactical planning, and no S.P.I.E.S. weaponry.

No time for panicking.

 **I love Greek mythology, and any time I get the chance to bring it up I will! Cerberus was the first thing that came to my mind for an akuma. Weird, right? I wanted something big and bad for Gecko to fight against. Poor Felix, having to enter a fight without any prior knowledge of how Cerberus will battle back. Aw, well, at the very least, he makes that suit look good ;)**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	15. Go Gecko Go

Felix was a Gecko. He became the Gecko. He would not let himself be lost to the miraculous powers. He was the one in control. He was the combatant.

Felix was _the_ Gecko.

The akuma, which Felix took to calling Cerberus, if only for clarity, was causing such a riot on the street, that doors and windows were being locked quicker than storm preparations. People were off the sidewalks in seconds as it pounded its large paws onto cards and streetlamps, but it did take a few seconds to sniff every other thing around. It was easily distracted, unaware of its own size, and likely had the thought pattern of a regular canine. Felix decided that he would go about defeating the akuma on the basis of its canine nature. He would not let HawkMoth think he was in control for long.

Cerberus growled. It was time to move. Felix held his breath and leaped down to the street. Eight minutes at the most, and that was ignoring the possibility of injury. It had thick fur; he was able to clamber up onto its back without any of the three heads taking notice. Around the neck of the middle head was a dark purple collar. It had to be where the akuma held possession of the mind of the victim. He crawled over and placed his hands on the buckle. If it was removed, Ladybug would have an easier time releasing the akuma.

So of course at the exact moment he began unbuckling the collar, the two outer heads took notice and began to bark. Both rammed their foreheads at him, but at the last second he darted back. It sounded as painful as it looked when they collided with one another and began whimpering. He would have felt sorry had he not been trained to overcome sympathy.

Unfortunately the scene alerted the third head to an unknown presence, and Cerberus began to chase after his tail. Felix admitted to himself that clinging to its fur while still holding his breath was a challenge. Just when he thought he would have to jump off and return a second time, the akuma reared up on its hind legs and slammed its back into a building, crushing Felix against the brick. When it returned to all four he fell to the ground, gasping for air and revealing himself. If Ms. Hiarthanu had witnessed such a mistake she would have fired him on the spot. Mr. Noital on the other hand would have simply laughed.

"Look," a citizen pointed through their window, "a superhero!"

People began cheering out random names they assumed were related to his gecko outfit. Some even opened their window to be heard more clearly. Felix got to his feet and faced Cerberus. The akuma stared back, licking its lips and showing off its huge fangs. Fighting was his only option now. It meant throwing out the secrecy.

So be it.

A purple butterfly sigil appeared over the middle head's eyes. At the same time Felix crawled up the wall backwards, keeping his chest out. Once he was head level with the three he stared them down with his large red eyes. The sigil vanished, the dog given its instructions. HawkMoth had to be communicating with it through the akuma. Cerberus growled and leaned in close to Felix, its jaws unhinging.

Time for him to be Gecko.

Lila was right that his invisibility was really camouflage, so he focused on holding his breath and hiding everything but his eyes. Cerberus leaned in, sniffing around for him. He opened his bright red eyes and let out a terrifying screech. It was more than enough to scare the akuma away, but it also left it open. Felix pushed off the wall and lunged for the middle head, flipping off it and on to the back again. The three heads turned to him as he let his breath out and grabbed his tail. He wrapped it into a handmade megaphone – and for the first time in five years, he screamed.

" _HHHHIIIISSSSAAAAHHHH_!"

Cerberus reared back, this time in fear. Even the people once peeking out their windows to cheer now ducked back inside and pulled the curtains shut. He should have been ashamed but was far too busy not getting crushed. Its paws were slamming down every which way, making it hard to predict its movements. He jumped from car to lamp to window. Ladybug was taking her time. If she was any later he may end up having to pay up on a lot of people's ruined property.

"Doggie, doggie!"

Ah, the greatest nightmare of any agent: a lone child standing inches from danger, ignorant to the deadly nature of their situation as evil bore down upon them. The little girl, no more than three, eagerly held her hands out towards Cerberus as he roared. His voice drew her black pigtails back. "I wanna pet da doggie!"

Felix put his tail back and acted quickly. Leaping out of the way of Cerberus he grabbed the girl, threw open a door to the nearest shop and slid her inside on the tiled floor. He pulled it shut and shooed her back to the counter. It took no more than five seconds to accomplish.

And one second for the left head to chomp down on his arm.

He unprofessionally let out a yelp of pain. The fangs did not break the skin but his right arm was now stuck between. The head lifted him into the air as the right head chomped down on his left leg. It was not enough for them to begin stretching him out; the middle head opened its mouth and drenched him in drool. Softening him…for digestion.

"Honestly," he also unprofessionally grit his teeth as the butterfly sigil flashed over the eyes of the middle head, "so childish. Devouring your troubles?"

"I completely agree, newcomer."

He and Cerberus looked up at the spotted figure standing atop the building he had been on only moments before. She gave them both a smirk, hands on her hips.

"Well, colour me impressed…or should I say camouflaged?"

 **Yay, Ladybug us on the scene at last! This was fun to write, mainly because I had to make Felix a unique fighter from Ladybug and Chat Noir. Rather than facing the akuma head on he does a lot more analyzing than the duo, and he has a way of thinking about everything like a mission rather than a life or death battle. Now we can finally see Gecko in action, and figure out just how well he can work with other heroes.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	16. Sensational

Good to know Felix made contact with Ladybug seconds before being eaten.

The middle head of Cerberus focused on the heroine while the other two continued to play tug of war with him. People were hidden behind their windows and curtains now, so at the very least he had little chance of embarrassing poor Cammo. "I know I may be new here," he called out to her through gritted teeth, fully aware of the pain in his head, arm and leg, "but a little assistance would be more than welcome."

He felt very unprofessional at the moment. Then again, there was no training for dealings with three headed dogs and miraculous – as of yet. He would be sure to make a full report once he got back.

If he got back.

Miraculously – oh, he would have to let Mr. Noital know he made somewhat of a humour joke on the mission – Ladybug was quite the lady, despite the sight of a young man about to be eaten laid out before her. With yo-yo in hand she drew her arm back. "Anything for a tourist!" With greater strength than any tenth grade student he knew, Ladybug whipped the yo-yo directly at the head holding his arm. It whacked it in the eye, releasing a bellow from its mouth and his arm out of the fangs. He dangled from the far right head by his still trapped leg.

The butterfly sigil appeared again over the middle head's eyes. Cerberus was set on Ladybug now. Felix was swung back and forth, vision blurring with the speed as it attempted to reach up to her.

Honestly, HawkMoth. How terribly barbaric.

Felix was very glad for the gloves. He lifted himself up to a straighter position and clung to the edges of its nostrils. Though without his tail he hissed at the dog. Its pupils thinned until they were near invisible. It opened its mouth and he yanked his leg out, flipping back up onto the back of its head and gazing up at Ladybug.

"…Well."

He was not surprised by her efficiency; she had been doing this for months now. Rather, her fast paced tactics were what had him watching with fascination. She swung onto its back and kept all three heads at bay with her yo-yo, all the while getting closer and closer to the collar. He kept on the right head in case she needed backup. The best agents learned when was the appropriate time to take a back seat for the sake of victory.

"So," she tried starting up a conversation while working, "got a name?"

Felix grabbed the tail and distracted the heads with more hissing. "Gecko."

She shivered. "What a voice you've got there, Gecko. Any idea where the akuma came from? A general direction could come in handy."

"Afraid I wasn't a witness to the transformation." He screamed right into the right head's ear. "I know as much as you do."

Well, and a teeny bit more, but that was a conversation for later.

"Then we might as well finish this up." She leaped off Cerberus and to a safe spot on the street. Swiftly she tossed her yo-yo into the air. "LUCKY CHARM!" When she caught it again it had transformed into an entirely different item.

"…"

"…"

"…Nothing against the way you work," Felix called from atop the now confused Cerberus, "but the usage of a stuffed toy is a tad beyond my grasp."

Ladybug examined the spotted cat toy before looking him and Cerberus over. Felix knew that look in her eye: she was planning out a response to the akuma in her mind. He admired the way her eyes flew from the toy to him to Cerberus to the streetlamps, as if an entire plan was laid out on the street. A plan only she could access.

"Gecko," she jumped out of the way as Cerberus tried to bite her, "what are your powers?"

"Hallucinations with limited transformation time afterwards."

Her smirk gave him confidence. "Better than I imagined. Get down here so we can finally put the akuma in its place!"

No asking twice on her part. Felix leaped down and rolled over beside her so they then stood side by side. Cerberus stood its ground, snarling at them with such pride that the air seemed to shake. Ladybug held the cat toy up. "Imagine a huge cat coming right at you. A beast that, up until now, you were supposed to be the predator for."

The rest of the fight required no dialogue between them. Ladybug tossed the toy at Cerberus' feet and ran out of view behind a couple of cars to the left. Felix stood behind the doll with tail in hand. As the three heads began sniffing the toy and fighting over who would chew it first, he wound the tail up and held it to his mouth.

"SENSATION!"

Speaking the word through the tail created a horrific hissing that crawled into his and Cerberus' ears. The akuma stumbled back as the cat toy began to transform, growing and growling until it was as big – no, bigger – than itself. Felix glanced at Ladybug but she was oblivious. Only he and the target can see the hallucination.

"Is it working, Gecko?"

The huge spotted cat toy roared at Cerberus. The akuma whimpered with its short tail between its legs.

"Most certainly, Ladybug."

Before Cerberus could escape back down the road, the cat toy lunged overhead and landed at its back, blocking the exit. Cerberus was left with no choice but to run towards Felix. He waved to Ladybug. "Three seconds!"

One second for him to jump out of the way.

One second for her to wrap the yo-yo cord around the two streetlamps, creating a trip wire.

One second for Cerberus to trip over the trip wire, smashing all three chins into the street. Felix knew stars would be dancing around its eyes. The cat toy sagged, its usefulness fulfilled. His leaf miraculous began to blink, as did hers.

"Excellent," she walked over and put a hand on the akumatized collar, "an akuma down in less than five minutes. Gotta be a record."

He watched her release the akuma as a thousand ladybugs fluttered around the damaged property. A new record indeed.

 **That was a lot of fun to write. It becomes harder and harder every day to write original fights for our heroes since there are so many people writing other fanfiction and stories, but hey, I never back down from a challenge! Now we get back to the investigation on Felix's part. There are things he knows now that may just change the way Ladybug and Chat Noir view the world.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	17. Pajamas can be Flattering

Turned out the akumatized victim was the guide dog of a young blind girl who lived not too far down the road. Apparently it felt bad about nearly dragging her into traffic and ran off, only to be controlled by HawkMoth. Ladybug and Felix took the retriever back to its grateful owner before taking to the rooftops.

"Just in time," she examined his leaf miraculous, "since the two of us are about to de-transform. I wish Chat Noir had been here, but it is pretty late, and I found out about the akuma from a third party."

"You seemed to handle yourself fine without Chat Noir." Besides, Felix knew Adrien would have no chance of escaping the mansion to help.

Ladybug gave him a look, something between pity and protectiveness. "Chat Noir may not have made it this time, but I could never protect Paris without him. We are a team; just because I can fight on my own does not make him meaningless."

Better to stay on her good side until he came in contact with the Master. "I apologize for such a comment against your partner. Now, before you go, I have a favour to ask."

"…You _did_ help against the akuma. Can you make it quick?"

Two spots on her earrings left before Marinette revealed herself. Felix gazed over the city. From so high up it almost looked serene. "I aware that as of now I am a stranger. However, there are things about the miraculous that I know. I have reasons for speaking with your Master. Please, I need to find him before the month is up."

Ladybug stared at him for the longest moment in his life. He feared the worse, her hiding the location of her Master, when she smiled. "Anything for a fellow hero. How about we meet up at his place tomorrow evening? I'll get in contact with Chat Noir."

"You want to be there?"

"Of course! If there's trouble we want to help. Meet us at the small passage parlor, the only one in this District," she swung her yo-yo out, "I can tell Master Fu ahead of time. And, Gecko?" She gave him a wink. "Thanks for helping. I know the first few times are the scariest." She was off without another question.

Felix ran along the roofs until he was back at the bridge in front of the bakery, where he de-transformed. He just caught sight of Ladybug slipping into the hatch on the balcony. Cammo popped out of the miraculous and onto his shoulder. "Well? Did you enjoy fighting as a superhero?"

"It was…educational."

"Huh. First time I ever heard a hero describe fighting as educational."

"Consider me unique."

Lila was back on the balcony, pretending to enjoy the clear air. She locked eyes with Felix as he stood across the bridge. She began signing off numbers at him.

"Cammo, can you make out the numbers?"

Cammo repeated the code as Felix memorized it. She vanished back into the apartment, leaving him to walk home before morning light dawned. "A phone number," he murmured as Cammo rested for the climb back into the Agreste mansion, "so she wishes to make contact as soon as I return home."

"What will you talk about?"

"What else? How she can improve my mission."

* * *

As Gecko, he slipped back into the mansion. As Felix, he glued the window panel back up and grabbed his secondary flip phone from one of his bags. Dialing up the number while Cammo fell asleep, he was sure to keep his voice low when her voice came up on the other end.

"You look good in pajama pants, Agent Agreste. Or maybe next time Gecko should wear a suit beneath the costume, eh?"

"I will ignore that and focus on what is important. Does Marinette have any suspicions that you know her secret?"

"None. I told her that I heard fighting outside and she escaped to the 'bathroom' while I stayed put. Not even Tikki has any clue."

"Good. What next…"

"…Are you trying to work up the courage to call me a partner?"

"Most likely."

"Well, then, _partner_ , how about you contact me two days from now, after meeting up with Chat and Lady and their Master, and we can discuss our next move together?"

It felt very, very wrong to be discussing such secrecies with an ex-agent, but he was left with no other options. Something big was happening and Lila knew the ins and outs of Paris far more than he or Cammo.

"Two days from now."

She chuckled. "Wonderful. Come to the bakery when the time is right. Until then…goodnight, partner." She hung up on him, leaving him in silence.

Leaving him to wonder what could possible go wrong if he made even the slightest mistake in the next few days.

* * *

Adrien was out most of the following day, and Uncle Gabriel was busy in his office making calls to who know how many clients. Felix remained in his room, fully dressed; being caught out in his pajamas by Lila had been enough embarrassment for one lifetime. He and Cammo were free to leave the mansion without anyone watching. Most of the morning and afternoon was spent on the streets, contacting Mr. Noital for updates and learning more about the heroes and HawkMoth from pedestrians. By the time evening rolled around he was walking towards the massage parlor with more answers than questions.

"Hey," Cammo peeked out of his vest as they approached the building door, "are you sure about speaking to their Master without a plan?"

"I always have a plan." Felix entered the building and quickly located the parlor. It was a small door at the end of the hallway. "Whether or not I verbalize is another matter."

He stood before the door with his hand out. Inside was the mysterious Master, Ladybug and Chat Noir – Fu, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste. He paused. He had thought about how to approach them all day and still he pondered. Clearly Cammo caught his slight distress.

"Felix, who will you be? Agent Agreste…or Gecko?"

Felix was silent.

He was unsure how to answer.

 **Who will walk through that door and speak to Master Fu? Will it be a mysterious hero known only as Gecko? Or will it be Adrien's own cousin with a dangerous secret of his own?**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	18. On the Tenth Day He Shall Learn

Just behind the door sat Master Fu, sipping tea while Ladybug and Chat Noir sat on either side of him. A small table was in the center, the book of miraculous laid out with Wayzz sitting atop the pages. When a knock at the door finally came the trio looked up. Fu smiled. "Please come in and close the door behind you."

The door opened and he stepped inside. Master Fu frowned with confusion. Ladybug's eyes were wide with surprise. Wayzz nearly fell back in shock. Chat Noir was by far the most flabbergasted at his appearance.

"…F-Felix?"

Cammo pushed the door shut behind them as Felix entered and gave a dignified bow. "Pleasure to meet you," he said as Cammo returned to his shoulder. "Agent Agreste, of the Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation and Extraction Sector. I have been sent here on account of your conflict with the person known as HawkMoth."

Chat Noir jumped to his feet, almost like he had no desire to hide his identity. "W-W-What?! Is this for real?! Are you actually an agent?!"

Ladybug stared at Chat Noir. Felix shot him a look, forcing him to take a seat again. He was too close to revealing himself to her and Tikki. Master Fu rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Wayzz hid behind the book spine. "S.P.I.E.S. I have never heard of this group before. Do you have proof of what you say?"

Felix grabbed a small disk out of his pants pocket and tossed it on top of the miraculous book. As soon as it flattened a huge holographic diagram of the S.P.I.E.S. main building appeared, dug in at the crevice close by Area 51. Ladybug and Chat Noir awed at the sight. Master Fu and Wayzz were sharing a look of concern. Cammo flew down in front of them. "You can trust Felix. He is here to help defeat HawkMoth!"

Felix brought the group up to speed on the history of S.P.I.E.S. and his mission in District 21. He could see their mental defenses slowly waning as he spoke. Chat Noir trusted him. Ladybug trusted Chat Noir. Master Fu and Wayzz trusted his heroes and Cammo. His appearance during such a delicate time in Parisian history was extraordinary and yet they were more than willing to hear him out.

They really are just children…and an elderly citizen.

"Founded in 1881, the Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation and Extraction Sector resides in a crevice ten miles Northwest of Area 51. The military does not deal with aliens, we do. We also deal with ghosts, monsters, mutants, fairies, etc. I will not waste our time listing off every species we've assisted or protected humans from. For now, the most important part of this basic presentation is my role here. I have been sent to locate you and HawkMoth and determine when your miraculous must be extracted from the city, for the safety of you and your people. Should the miraculous remain then further damage will fall on Paris."

The sitting trio gawked. "Extract?!"

"The miraculous will be given to trained professionals. As we speak further investigations into sightings in American and Chinese cities are taking place."

Ladybug glanced at Cammo. "You were the one I fought Cerberus with?" He nodded. "Then you should know how skilled we are! We can handle HawkMoth. If you want to help, great, but you have no right to take the miraculous we were given by Master Fu!"

"Ladybug is right," Chat Noir was attempting to glare at Felix, but he knew Adrien would find it impossible, "and while I may not have been able to help, I want to keep fighting alongside her to save Pairs once and for all!" They stared into each other's eyes.

Master Fu raised his hand for silence. "Agent Agreste. You wish to know the history of Kwami and how the miraculous came to be created?"

"Any information you have will be most beneficial to our research."

Fu smirked and held up all his fingers. "Ten days."

"…They were created in ten days?" Only after a moment did Felix catch further meaning to the Master's words. "Ah. Proceed."

"You have ten days to master your miraculous under the guidance and training of Ladybug and Chat Noir. If you succeed, then I will tell you everything."

Felix was caught off guard. Beyond off guard. "…You want me to master the gecko miraculous in exchange for knowledge? How does this benefit you?"

"A third hero keeping an eye on Paris."

Ladybug and Chat Noir were almost as shocked as Felix was. "You want us to train him with his miraculous?!"

"Let him see how powerful you two are as a team against the akuma."

Felix grabbed the disk again and shut the hologram off. "As tempting as that sounds, my higher ups have given me a deadline for the end of the month."

"Then ten days will leave you plenty of time."

This was terrible. Fu here believed that he could change his perception of Ladybug and Chat Noir by forcing him to work with them for over a week. The disk has already scanned the entire book, and Felix's Chinese has been perfected. He could leave now and begin his search for HawkMoth and come back for their miraculous after the threat has been dealt with.

Cammo was extremely excited. He flew around the room so fast he was a blur. "We get to fight with Ladybug and Chat Noir! We get to fight with Tikki!"

Ladybug glanced at Felix for an answer.

"It would seem my Kwami has a crush on a Kwami by the name of Tikki. Any ideas?" He needed to feign ignorance until the situation called for the truth.

Chat Noir stood up and put an arm around Felix's shoulders. "By the end of these ten days you will be a pro with that tie pin miraculous!"

Felix sighed while Ladybug gave Chat Noir a thumbs up. At the very least he could keep an eye on Adrien and Marinette.

Lila would never let him hear the end of this…and neither will…

 **Ooh, Felix has to train with Ladybug and Chat Noir while Lila works in the background and Master Fu waist for the ten days to be complete! Can these ten days change Felix and how he thinks the miraculous work, or will it all be for naught?**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	19. Truths, Followed by Tea

"Ten days?!" Mr. Noital was laughing so hard Felix could feel his hands free phone shaking. "I cannot believe you let them talk you into ten days of training! I always knew you were a softie when the going got tough."

Felix sat at his desk that evening while Cammo slept on the pillow of his bed. With the foam stick under his door once again he was free to speak loud and clearly, and even add a few hints of sarcasm now and then. His computer was focused on both downloading his scans of the book to Ms. Hiarthanu and keeping an eye on the Dupain-Cheng bedroom. "I suggest we move on to what I did manage to gather while talking to them today, unless you have something positive to add to my findings."

Mr. Noital cleared his throat and returned his mind to the task ahead. "Naturally you have found plenty of vital information for our researchers to dissect. In a matter of hours we should have all we need to make a decent case with this Master Fu figure and retrieve the miraculous for Agent Darwin and his team. They are currently training with footage collected on the techniques that Ladybug and Chat Noir have been using."

"Further information will be collected as soon as Master Fu is pleased with my progress. Cammo is prepared for rigorous training." He almost told Mr. Noital about his meeting with Lila but felt it would only cause further problems in the mission. "What do we know so far?"

"The book you scanned with the hologram disk tells of Kwami origins. Turns out each Kwami is born out of a concept: creation and destruction and whatnot. That would mean there are millions around the world. We are currently gathering Intel on as many Masters around the world as we can. Sooner or later-"

Felix knew the rest. "We could have contact with every Kwami."

"We could be saving thousands of children and young adults from the dangers of lunatics on the same wavelength as HawkMoth. Speaking of which, it turns out HawkMoth is using a Kwami as a weapon against other Kwami."

"I figured."

 _Knock-knock._

Felix cut the call off and quickly pressed F2 four times in a row on his laptop. Automatically the camera and download were hidden behind a website about Parisian tourist sites. He memorized those weeks ago, but it kept strangers from learning the truth. "Come in."

Adrien meekly slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, not noticing the foam at his feet. Felix turned to him and placed his phone onto the desk to give his cousin his complete attention. "Is something wrong?"

Poor Adrien was shuffling on his heels and unable to look Felix in the eyes. Cammo remained in the glasses case as they remained in awkward silence for forty seconds. Finally Felix realized he would have to speak up, or they could remain that way for the entire night. "You looked awfully tired. I think sleep in in your best interest."

Adrien did not reply. Instead he played with the white ring he still wore. Felix watched him tap his index finger on the square top. Slowly he turned back to the desk and put his arms on top so he could allow his head to droop.

"…Part of the job is pushing your family away. You have to put the safety of other above your state of mind." Still Adrien said nothing. "…I never would have thought my own cousin would be a hero. I never thought I would have to drag anyone I knew back into danger."

"…Uncle Justin?"

"Hypnotized by fairies to join the Marines. He knows nothing."

"…Aunt Cordelia?"

"Taken by the same fairies. Never heard from again. They live for stealing away beautiful girls and women." He noticed Adrien now standing right beside him and looked up into his eyes, full of desperation and hope. How he always hated to crush such spirits. "I do not know if they could take away Aunt Tiffany. I have theories but they remain too vague."

Adrien sighed and gave him a smile. "Never mind. You came, and that alone is great. I may not fully understand what S.P.I.E.S. wants with the miraculous, but I trust you, Felix, and I know that you will make the right choice in the end."

If only Felix had the choice. "When does training begin?"

"Tomorrow night."

"I will be there…"

"My school will do for now." Adrien walked over and opened the door, but before he left he gave Felix one final smile for the night. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

"Your welcome, Adrien." When the door shut behind his cousin Felix turned to the glasses case and let out a deep breath. Ten days. He had ten days to separate Chat Noir from Adrien…

* * *

Lila sipped from her lemonade as a cool breeze rushed over their heads. She and Felix sat outside a small café close to the museum. After meeting up at the bakery, the duo had agreed to discuss the mission elsewhere for a bit of privacy. No one paid them any attention here. Felix took a sip of his tea and got comfortable, though not too comfortable. "I see no point trying to get Intel out of Master Fu until the ten days are up. Torture is not my style."

Lila scoffed. "Another reason S.P.I.E.S. and I never got along. Who offers torture as an option without being some sort of barbarian?"

"Now that you know everything I do, any advice on how to convince Ladybug and Chat Noir to give up their miraculous peacefully?"

"…Torture?"

"The time for humour is long gone."

"Clearly my humour is beyond your comprehension. I understand how dire the situation is, and I also know that retrieving the miraculous from our heroes will be impossible unless you choose to torture the earrings and ring off of them."

He hated to admit that her notion was right. He hated the idea of hurting Adrien. Of hurting innocent students.

"…Lila."

They locked eyes.

"Please. Help me save Adrien."

 **Felix must trust Lila to help him save Adrien and Marinette from getting hurt behind the masks of Ladybug and Chat Noir...but is he really saving them, or will his actions only cause further trouble? I know a couple readers don't like how adamant Felix is about separating the miraculous from Adrien and Marinette, but imagine you were in his shoes: your cousin is risking his life when others could take his place. It will take a bit of convincing to show Felix just how strong Chat Noir really is...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	20. It's the Ten Day Countdown!

Lila stared deep into Felix until he was sure she could see his very soul. He fought to keep from blushing as she let out a sigh, something along the lines of relief on her part. "Of course I'll help you, but only if you realize that Adrien and Marinette are not the ones who need saving. Your focus should be saving Paris from HawkMoth."

Felix decided they would pretend he had not just made a desperate plea, coughing into his sleeve and returning her stare. "Right. Tell me what you know about the sky. You were hinting the last time we met about something amiss."

She pointed to the clouds. "Ever wonder why people never seem to be able to guess the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir around here?"

"Ignorance or a lack of care."

"All caused by the Mesmer."

Felix looked back to the clouds. Ever since he came to Paris he had felt as though something was off about the city. He turned his contacts on and scanned the air, and sure enough there was some invisible traces of magic lingering in the air. Mesmer was a tricky subject, a line of magic that only fairies could use in order to hypnotize entire peoples. For a Mesmer to be placed over the entire city, it would mean…

"A fairy is working in Paris. A _powerful_ fairy."

Lila played with the straw in her lemonade. "A fairy that wants the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir to remain a secret. Somehow this fairy is connected to the miraculous and the Kwami. The only reason you and I are immune is because of our training. We can see through the magic, but if long enough under its spell…"

Even the strongest agents would fall victim to Mesmer if caught for too long within its confines. Felix would have to take this into account with the month he had left to complete the mission. If he was unable to figure out the identity of HawkMoth, he would be unable to return to America, and his father would become suspicious, even under the fairy spell.

"Focus on the training with Ladybug and Chat Noir," Lila grabbed her sunglasses and slipped them on as he shut his contacts off, "and leave gathering clues about the Mesmer to me. We can meet here again once Gecko has mastered the miraculous." With a wink she was on her way, and with a wave she hopped onto the nearest city bus and rode off. Felix was left to his thoughts, and to the hard facts.

He had ten days to meet the requirements of Master Fu, or he would never be able to complete his mission and return home.

* * *

The school was quiet as Felix, back in his Gecko outfit, climbed up the wall and onto the roof. Ladybug and Chat Noir were already waiting, chatting about something until silence overtook them. Whatever they were saying was not for Felix to overhear. He understood their reservations about sharing information with him. Hopefully they understood his reservations about telling them anything more about S.P.I.E.S.

"Right on time," Ladybug had her hands on her hips again, "which I take to be enthusiasm for our new training schedule?"

"You have an entire schedule planned?"

Chat Noir counted off his fingers-er, claws. "Basic physical exercises, jogging, power practice, a couple more laps, combat training-"

Felix crossed his arms. Adrien was enjoying his training a little too much. "How exactly did your training go?"

"We fought rock monsters…we rocked."

Ladybug put one hand on Chat Noir's shoulder and one on Felix's. "Come on, you two, we don't have time to play around and make jokes. Gecko has to be shown the ropes and have mastered his powers in ten days. We can start with physical training. Gecko – push-ups!"

Physical training was easily the silliest part of his training. Felix overcame all their challenges due to his training with S.P.I.E.S. A hundred push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, various stretches: he was back in gym class.

"Good, good," Chat Noir clapped once he was finished, "now we move onto jogging!" Ladybug took the lead off the building, but before Chat could join her Felix grabbed his arm. "I hope you aren't tired yet, Gecko."

Felix leaned in so only they could hear. "Adrien…do you enjoy school?"

Chat Noir let his smile fade to something small and heartfelt. He gazed down at the courtyard. "I love going to school and learning with my friends."

"Does Chat Noir not get in the way of classes and friends?"

"Ladybug and I make it work."

"For how long?"

Chat frowned and shook Felix off. "We can do this forever if it means defeating HawkMoth. We will always each other."

Felix glanced at Ladybug, who was standing by the water and looking towards the bakery with a huge smile on her lips. "Under that mask is an innocent girl that has family and friends and more than enough responsibility, without having to worry about the fate of the city. Every time you two come out to fight you put that in jeopardy."

Felix could see the doubt bubbling up in Adrien behind his own mask. Without another word he used his baton to jump down beside Ladybug, leaving Gecko to watch as they chatted like old friends.

The world of crime was never meant for children like those two. They should be at home, asleep and safe like the rest of their classmates. If either of them were to fall in battle…if their parents were to find out the truth like that…

Ladybug waved for Felix to join them. Chat Noir gave him a thumbs up. They would have to be quick with the rest of the training before dawn arrived and people began to notice.

Whatever Master Fu thought this training would prove to Felix, it would not deter him. Fu had not only placed Marinette Dupain-Cheng in mortal danger, but he was risking the life of Felix's own cousin.

He _would_ retrieve their miraculous.

And then he _would_ see to the arrest of their Master.

 **And so the training begins, along with the knowledge that there is definitely something going on in the air around Paris. Just what kind of fairy is out there spreading a Mesmer throughout Paris? And what do they have to do with Ladybug and Chat Noir? Felix only has days to master his miraculous and keep from falling under the Mesmer's spell...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	21. Photo Opportunity

The next ten days were long and tiresome. Felix knew Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette and Adrien, were doing all they could to convince him that they were more than capable of handling the battle against HawkMoth. During the day he also kept contact with Mr. Noital and Lila. She was gathering evidence of a fairy in District 21. There were sightings of a blue clad figure that could be seen tampering with something apparently invisible.

Almost as though they were tampering with air itself.

Felix saw little of Uncle Gabriel during those ten days. He was off in the office doing work, but Cammo swore to hearing a strange whirring sound behind the doors. Lila suggested a few more cameras around the office, to which Felix quickly agreed and put into action. Something was up with the art in that room. Tampered art was always hiding something…

Adrien took him out most of the days so they could bond. Plagg and Cammo hung out in the laptop bag while they roamed the city, chowing down on roasted nuts and camembert. Care of the Kwami was essential, after all.

"…What do fairies look like?"

Adrien had asked while they were on the Eiffel Tower; Felix let out a moan that could only have been heard by dogs. Answering all of the questions his cousin without a doubt had about magical creatures could take longer than the month he had. He would have to keep it simple…he could hear Mr. Noital in his mind.

 _"Does your habit of asking too many questions run in the family?"_

He supposed it _had_ to run in the family. He watched as Adrien gripped the railing, waiting for an answer. "…Fairies come in different shapes and sizes, Adrien. In ancient times they grew to human sizes and blended in with society. Modern fairies come in two variations: those who remain tiny unless provoked into changing their form, or those who remain large and use their magic for evil."

"Like kidnapping?"

"I would enjoy telling you that Aunt Tiffany is merely a damsel in distress that must be saved. I would be one of the first to attempt a rescue mission…but I have no evidence of such an event," he too now leaned over the railing, "and even if I did, it would take a few days at most to get all the necessary backup and information."

"…I need Chat Noir, Felix."

Felix was surprised by the abrupt comment. He had expected his cousin to talk about anything but the Kwami, since it was known he was attempting to remove them from Adrien and fellow hero Marinette. There was such a seriousness in his voice, however, that Felix felt it better to be as silent as possible while Adrien spoke.

"Ever since mother vanished, father has been so strict and deep in his work. We only eat dinner together on occasion. He practically lives in his office now! When Plagg came to me, telling me that I had been chosen to be a superhero, do you know how amazing I felt? I finally had a chance to escape the mansion and be free to make whatever jokes I wanted, act however I wanted, and go anywhere outside of the walls!"

"What about school?"

"Natalie or my bodyguard are always close by in case something happens. School is wonderful, but I needed time alone, and as Chat Noir, I can be myself." He gave Felix a smile. "I know you worry about me and Ladybug, but we can handle this. Master Fu would never choose us unless we were ready and willing."

Felix could not help but scoff. "You give that man too much credit. He chose you and Marinette because you are kind and innocent and would do anything for a poor old man in dire need of help to save the entire city."

Adrien stared at him. Felix knew the stare. It was the stare of someone looking at something they had seen a dozen times, but looking it over as though for the first time. "…This is because of me. You came here to collect the miraculous because of me!"

"I came because S.P.I.E.S. believes the miraculous belong in the hands of professionals who are out of school and trained in combat."

Adrien pulled him in for a hug. "You're being so stubborn because you care!"

"Obviously I care!"

Click!

Both turned to find Lila holding her phone up, waving it around with a photo of the duo on the screen. She handed Felix the phone and scooted in beside Adrien. "How about a photo for the collection?"

Felix sighed but stepped back for her request. Then he noted her posture: having her and Adrien leaning in such a way that he could make out the sky between them. He zoomed in, just getting their heads in the shot while making out something in the distance.

Something blue.

Something fast.

Lila had come up here to get a photo. He took two shots of the figure before they disappeared, then a couple more focused on the duo. As he handed the phone back she gave him a wink. "You ever thought about taking photography lessons?"

"I have enough skill to get your faces in the shot."

Lila shrugged the comment off and walked away in a saunter. Adrien watched her leave before sighing. "I really am glad she feels more comfortable around me and the rest of the class. I think you were right – we just have to bring her in."

As they left the Eiffel Tower, many thoughts barraged Felix, until he was fighting off a major headache. Tonight he would meet Master Fu to learn more about the miraculous. Tonight he had to contact Ms. Hiarthanu about what was to be done with the miraculous. Tonight Lila would send him the photo of the mysterious figure working with the Mesmer over Paris.

Tonight he was either Adrien's favourite cousin in the whole wide world…

Or his mortal enemy.

 **And so Felix must make the ultimate decision soon...but HOW soon? There are always obstacles in his line of work, and he may just be caught off guard by something besides Master Fu. Someone close to him may be hiding something close by. He may just have to start doing a little more agent type work before he deals with deciding whether or not Fu is gonna go free...or end up with five to ten.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	22. Aww, You Trainable Softie, You

The night came quickly. Felix was in his room reviewing footage from the mansion office. There was definitely something off about the whiteboard Uncle Gabriel had up in the back corner. He sped the film up.

"…?"

There was Uncle Gabriel, standing in front of his desk. Then he moved to the whiteboard, where multiple sketches were strewn about. He noticed his uncle placing his hand on one of the pieces of paper before moving back to the center of the office. For a moment Felix could find nothing out of the ordinary.

Then his uncle vanished.

"Wait," he wound back and slowed the footage, "how did he-!"

As he uncle waited, the floor around him began to rise, until Uncle Gabriel was taken to the roof by a circle of metal that just a quickly took its place back in the floor. Without Uncle Gabriel. It meant that somewhere in the mansion, there was a secret room. Felix stood and knocked on the glasses case. "Cammo, I have found something."

Cammo phased into view as Felix showed him the footage. "Uncle Gabriel has been working in another room beyond the office. One of those sketches on the whiteboard is a sort of lock that he uses to hide the platform. This is the source of the whirring noise you heard coming from behind the doors."

"What do you think he does up there?"

Felix did not answer. He did not want to answer. Finding out his cousin was Chat Noir made him all too suspicious. He stood up and grabbed his hands free phone. "I need you to head over to Fu and meet up with him and the others. I intend to investigate the platform before joining you. If my theory is correct…" He would rather not say it aloud until he was absolutely certain. "Never mind. I will explain in due time. For now I need you with the Master."

Cammo gazed out the window but turned back to Felix. "It is never a wise decision for a Kwami to be so far from their miraculous. What if something happens to you?"

Felix fingered the tie pin. "I am an agent with years of training that does not revolve around the miraculous. I can handle myself should danger arise, though I doubt any will."

"Are you sure?"

"Please have faith in my abilities."

Cammo sighed and began towards the windows, but he paused and turned again before Felix left the bedroom. "Master Fu will want to know how you intend to deal with the miraculous he gave Adrien and Marinette. What should I tell him?"

Again Felix had no answer, or rather, he would have preferred to not have to answer. Whatever he said meant trouble for someone he relied on, whether it be his organization or his cousin. He rubbed his temples, a headache coming on. If only there had been training for situations such as this. He had been trained to accept his family may be aliens in disguise, but there was no manual for relatives being revealed as superheroes.

"Felix?" Cammo cleared his throat and smiled. "I know you worry about Adrien and Marinette getting hurt while on the job, but believe me, there have been younger heroes who have seen so many terrible things before your time."

Slowly Felix took a seat on the bed while Cammo settled down beside him. It was the first time he was willing to relax around the Kwami other than sleep, though even while asleep his senses were on high alert. "How young have they been?"

"I have fought alongside children no older than eight or nine, because they were chosen for their individual gifts. Masters do not just pick and choose people who are easy to lure into battle. They choose people who are just and compassionate." The Kwami smirked. "I know you had plans of arresting Master Fu, but he never meant to place Adrien in harm without giving him the power to defend himself and protect innocent citizens."

"…I suppose arresting him would do little good."

"Other masters have had to make tougher choices." Cammo lowered his head, almost in shame. "During wars and natural disasters, heroes have been chosen not for their ages, but for how they are willing to handle their powers. You have to trust the Masters, Felix: sometimes there is no place for professionals."

He took Cammo's words to heart. He remembered the smile Adrien had while in costume. The thought of taking away that happiness…made him feel extremely sappy and unprofessional. He shook his head. "I understand now."

"After ten days of training?"

"What? No. That was pointless. Master Fu actually thought I would change my ways after being with Ladybug and Chat Noir all this time…he is soft."

"Then why are you smiling?"

Indeed he was smiling. Felix let out a contented sigh. He glanced at his laptop and luggage. He felt better knowing that there was something keeping Adrien happy and safe, even if that thing was also the reason he was in danger in the first place. "I made too big a deal over this. There will be other miraculous holders for us to examine. Cammo."

"Yes?"

He rose and proceeded to the bedroom door. "I hereby declare to you, Master Fu and the agents of S.P.I.E.S, that Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng are the appropriate wielders of the ladybug and black cat miraculous."

Cammo squealed with delight. "You will not regret this!" The Kwami flew through the window and disappeared into the evening. Felix prepared to exit the bedroom and take to the stairs. He had everything he would need on him. He had to begin his walk to the office before someone noticed. With Natalie and Uncle Gabriel busy in the dining room he had just enough time to learn the secrets of the platform. Cammo would give Adrien and Master Fu his answer and that would be that. He would have to speak to Ms. Hiarthanu about his choice, but she would understand.

If he made it out of the mansion.

 **Aw, Felix has a big heart under all that training ;) But now he has just one tiny little thing to figure out...what on earth is his Uncle doing in the ceiling above the office? Oh, and even thought he's willing to let Adrien and Marinette keep their miraculous, will he be willing to let them help him out of trouble if it arise? I mean, he is entering a mysterious room...who knows what sort of trouble could arise...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	23. Arsenal of the Agent

It felt as though weeks had passed since Felix was able to exercise in the ways of an agent. With all the tools he would need hidden in his pockets, he let his bedroom door open with the slightest creak and peered out into the dark hallway. It was only half past eight in the evening, but Adrien was out with Marinette and Master Fu, Natalie was busy in her office, and Uncle Gabriel was out with the bodyguard for a business meeting. The only thing keeping an eye on Felix was the many cameras scouring the mansion.

Sixty, to be exact, and every one was inconveniently aimed directly as his room that day. Uncle Gabriel was beginning to get suspicious of his nephew. Felix had to work fast. He no longer had a month to complete the mission.

His first task was dealing with the video footage Gabriel would no doubt be analyzing come the following morning. Slipping a few flimsy film disks out of his pocket, Felix took aim and flicked them through the opening of the door. Each disk flew up to the cameras and attacked themselves to the lens. Now every camera right outside of the guestroom had looping footage of a shut door. No one would know Felix had left the room. He quietly snuck out and carefully closed the door behind him. Four cameras down, twenty left on his way to the office.

After a few minutes of caution and placing the appropriate loop footage over every camera, Felix was across the mansion in the office hallway. He turned his contacts on and scanned the floors. Surprisingly he found hidden heat scanning panels beneath.

Not a typical flooring choice.

Felix reached down and pressed a tiny button on the back of both his loafers. Immediately they lightened until he was practically floating. He walked over the panels without disturbing them and approached the office doors. Before making it within five feet, however, he stopped. There was something in the air that he felt but could not see. At first he wondered if there was Mesmer guarding the office, until he grabbed a small spray bottle from his pocket and sprayed the air. It took only seconds for glowing red energy particles to come into view.

The entire office entrance was blocked off by security beams.

Felix was becoming extremely curious as to what Uncle Gabriel was hiding above the platform in his office. For him to have so many precautions to guard his fashion secrets was unbelievable, even by his strict standards.

Dealing with the beams was easy enough. He crouched, squeezed the spray bottle, and rolled it beneath the criss-crossing lights. It blinked twice before letting out a dark spray that enveloped the beams. Microscopic mirror shards in the gas reflected the beams into one another, creating a path between directly to the door. Felix walked through and scanned the doors for any potential locks, but it was safe…for the moment.

The interior of the office was nothing special. Felix pried the doors opened and flicked the rest of the looping footage film onto the remaining cameras. Then he entered the room and made sure the doors were shut before looking around. Little was out of place from when he had last looked in through his secret cameras. He continued to scan the room for anymore beams or security measures as he moved to the whiteboard covered in sketches. From the way Uncle Gabriel had been looming over the drawings, the one he used to activate the platform had to be-

 _Ring-ring-ring._

He turned the hands free phone on but spoke not a word. "Agent Agreste," Ms. Hiarthanu spoke in a quiet voice on the other end, "you have yet to give us an update for what you have learned as of this evening."

He tapped the phone in an intricate pattern only agents could translate.

"Inability to speak due to undercover investigation. Very well. Report in as soon as you find the source of your curiosity." She clicked off and left him to his thoughts. Thoughts that were almost too distracting.

He had some suspicions of what Uncle Gabriel could be hiding. As he gazed from one sketch to the next he worked out all the possibilities. His uncle could have a hidden supply of fabrics that were illegal in Paris. His uncle could have advanced technology for creating his garments that he kept hidden out of the reach of competitors. His uncle could have a special lounge simply used for relaxation. Or…

He focused on one of the bottom sketches. It was Aunt Tiffany wearing a long white gown made of silk, her hair in a braid over her shoulder and her smile coated in deep purple gloss. Of course she was the key to the platform. Uncle Gabriel was getting sappy in his old age. Felix flipped the sketch up and placed his hand against the bottom corner of the whiteboard.

 _Click._

 _Whirrrrrrrrrr._

Felix moved to where the platform was forming and stood still as it rose. A hole appeared in the ceiling, and as he drew nearer he could see that there was no light above. Soon he was enveloped in darkness. The platform ceased movement, so he stepped off and let it lower again while the ceiling snapped back into place. He was on his own in new territory without a source of light. It was time to rely on Mr. Noital and his gadgets.

He turned his tie clip on, giving him a two meter radius of light. He would have to be quick and precise. His spray bottle would only keep the beams reflected for another twenty minutes. Felix took a cautious step forward. There was no furniture or other doors. He saw nothing but empty space and metal walls.

And…fluttering?

His eyes widened as tiny creatures flew into the light. Dozens of them drew closer and closer.

Dozens of pure white butterflies, trapped atop the office of Uncle Gabriel.

 **Things are looking pretty grim for Felix...or should I say, for Uncle Gabriel? Butterflies trapped in the attic above his office? Yeah, because THAT is totally not giving off evil vibes in Paris tonight. This was really fun to write: I love secret agent stuff, and how convenient most of the tools and equipment can be. Now we just have to hope that Felix can use his skills to find the answers.**

 **And get out with them alive.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	24. Butterfly, Fly Awa-AAAHHH!

Not since Felix had learned the truth about his mother, how faeries had taken her away, had his mind tried to enter a state of denial. He stood at the back of the empty room, lit only by his tie clip flashlight, as dozens of white butterflies fluttered around along the cold, metal floor panels. He had to keep steady. He could not give into denial.

HawkMoth performed his evil deeds above the office of Uncle Gabriel.

HawkMoth kept his butterflies overtop Uncle Gabriel.

HawkMoth _was_ Uncle Gabriel.

This was a disaster on so many levels. Arresting Gabriel Agreste meant putting his fashion out of business. It meant leaving Adrien without his sole parent. It meant having to watch his family get torn apart. Again. He suppressed a groan. Scaring the butterflies off would only make things far more hectic. He needed peace and quiet and _proof_.

Taking the flash clip off his tie he chucked it into the air, where it stuck to the dome roof and lit the entire room with a brighter glow. The butterflies dove up towards the light and hung around in schools. Felix examined the empty room and found nothing beyond the butterflies and the circle where the platform would rise. He would have to figure out how to get back down without Uncle Gabriel noticing.

There was a circle on the opposite wall where he assumed a window to be. With the camera of his watch operational, he filmed the entire room with a 360° scope. He scanned the room with his contacts and found repeating heat signatures in the center, those of a tall man of average weight. He found strips of fresh nectar lining the bottom rim of the room. He held his hand up as though holding a staff, and the butterflies began to float around him.

HawkMoth had held a staff in the miraculous book Master Fu kept. The butterflies were drawn to his figure. HawkMoth had been training them to do his bidding. Felix planned to take one for a research specimen and release the rest. There was a strange sound but he ignored it, distracted by the way the butterflies were returning to the light. Almost like they knew he was not the one they usually surrounded…

"Felix."

Fool. He was a _fool_. Without an inch of expression on his, face Felix turned back to the platform, where Uncle Gabriel stood in his usual white suit. A couple stray butterflies flew down to him and began circling his hands. His stare was as cold as the frown upon his face and brow. He was unwilling to speak first. Felix narrowed his eyes.

"Adrien trusted you."

"You know nothing about what I do here."

"I know enough to consider you an immediate threat to the city."

Uncle Gabriel examined him in the light, only glancing up once to take in the fact that there was now a light attached to the ceiling. "…What are you?"

For the first time in a while Felix pulled out his thin, silver metal. "Agent Agreste, Supernatural and Paranormal Investigation and Extraction Sector."

"I always knew there was something different about you."

"By order of my superiors I am to bring you in for your initiation, instigation and participation of over a dozen criminal activities across Paris."

Uncle Gabriel had the audacity to cock an eyebrow at Felix. "Do you not understand how your actions will affect the city? How they will affect my business and my family?"

"You brought this upon yourself the second you began using a miraculous for greedy purposes."

"Hear me out."

Felix had not expected his uncle to give in so easily, but he would not let such a chance slip by. Pretending to brush a bang behind his ear, he turned his phone on and began recording. Proof was essential to the mission. Uncle Gabriel took a deep breath and pulled his ascot back. Under it a purple brooch was clipped – the butterfly miraculous. Felix had to choke down what he had to consider a sense of deep betrayal. His own family was now to be connected to criminals. He was never one to get emotional, but finding out his uncle was a villain was setting him on edge – no, beyond the edge.

"Listen to me, Felix, because I work as logically as any miraculous holder." He slipped the ascot back into place. "I found it upon the edge of my bed one morning and knew it was meant to be mine. I learned all I needed from the Kwami Nooroo and realized that I had the chance of a lifetime." He rubbed his fingers along the ascot. "The chance to bring Tiffany back to me." His eyes glanced back up at Felix. "To bring her back for _us_."

From the brooch sprung forth a small purple Kwami with butterfly wings. Felix knew it had to be Nooroo. It looked over at Felix as though he were a ghostly apparition. "W-What are you doing up here?"

"I came to find out the secret of the platform. Instead I find out my own uncle is HawkMoth and has been causing a crime spree across Paris for the sake of some pathetic dream."

Uncle Gabriel grit his teeth. "Pathetic?"

"What sort of grown man believes he can bring the missing back by creating terror?"

"I use the akuma to defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"To bring your wife back?" Felix almost scoffed despite the insanity of it all. "Forgive me for not following your obvious logic, but since when did defeating superheroes reunite criminals to their lovers?"

Uncle Gabriel gestured wildly to Nooroo, who shrunk back in fear. "I know what to do! Nooroo has revealed to me the secret power of the miraculous! All I need are the earrings and the ring, and they will lead me to the rest, and then I will own all seven!"

"Then what?"

There was a chill to the way Uncle Gabriel tried to smile, only to end up sneering. "Then I will have the power to grant myself any wish…even to raise the dead."

 **And so his secret is out, as is the secret of HawkMoth! What can Felix do against a criminal that remains a part of his family? How far will he go to ensure Paris us safe from the hands of HawkMoth once and for all? How will Adrien and Marinette play into all of this? And, perhaps the biggest questions of them all...**

 **How many chapters until the end?!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	25. Crazy Strength

Felix realized his grave mistake upon coming to Paris: he has been assuming that Ladybug and Chat Noir were the children, when in actuality, it was _HawkMoth_ that was the child. "Honestly," he crossed his arms while staring Uncle Gabriel down, "do you really think you can get away with raising the dead and having no consequences?"

"All will be possible as soon as I have the miraculous required to activate the ultimate ability. I will see my wife again. How could you possibly stand in my way?" Uncle Gabriel imploringly reached out for Felix despite the space between them. "I need Tiffany. Adrien needs Tiffany. I know you want to see her again."

"Are you even sure Aunt Tiffany is dead?"

"I have searched and searched, and even if I cannot find her alive, I can bring her back to us from the dead!"

Though he was trained to keep his emotions under control, knowing what had to happen next to his uncle weighed heavily on Felix. He would have a hard time facing Adrien when he returned from the massage parlor. However, he was wasting time listening to Uncle Gabriel speak of that which he could never, ever understand. He had dealt with zombies and necromancer on previous missions in over ten different countries. French zombies would be no different, _if_ Aunt Tiffany was actually dead.

Uncle Gabriel seemed to notice his resistance to the raising of the dead plan, lowering his arms and letting out an exasperated sigh. "I had hoped you would understand. I know next to nothing about this group you joined, but I can see you're too far in their grip to see the truth. If you will not help me then you must stay out of the way."

"You know that isn't how this is going to end."

"You would stop me from bringing her back?"

"I would stop you from ruining her afterlife."

"I would never-"

Felix had heard more than enough. He snapped his fingers, loosening the flashlight clip from the ceiling. It dropped into his hand and dimmed. He gave Uncle Gabriel one last look. His feelings for his family had to come second to justice. "I hope we can talk this over someday…for the sake of Adrien." He pressed a button on the back of the clip and tossed to towards his uncle. "Until we can meet again."

Uncle Gabriel caught the clip and looked it over. "What do you mean giving this to me-?" It was too late for him when he noticed Felix shutting his eyes. "Felix-"

 _FLASH!_

The clip blasted the room in a field of bright light, though Felix only knew from the light behind his shut eyelids. When he opened them again the room was pitch black. He could hear Uncle Gabriel cursing as he dropped the clip to the ground, accidentally stepping on it in his confusion. He would be blinded only momentarily, no more than a few seconds.

"W-What have you done to me?!"

Felix was experienced in combat in darkness of all shades and depths. Retrieving the miraculous was his number one priority. Without it, Uncle Gabriel was defenseless. He could hear Gabriel in front of the platform, fumbling about and calling out for him.

"Felix! Where have you gone?!"

He was becoming hysterical. Felix quickly ducked in front of him and reached out for the brooch before his Uncle got his senses back. Once he had the miraculous he would-

"Never!"

The way his uncle reacted was unprecedented, to say the least. He grabbed Felix by the arm and, with near inhuman strength, flipped him over his shoulder and flung him against the back wall of the room. Felix smacked into the cold metal and slid onto his backside on the ground. It took only a moment for him to regain his senses, but it was certainly a strange moment. Since when did his uncle know how to defend himself against the trainings of an agent? Where had he gotten such strength and swift motions?

He had little time to go through all the possible explanations. Uncle Gabriel was by his side only a split second later, reaching down and grabbing him by the collar before slamming him back up against the wall. His feet dangled as his uncle leaned in close. He could smell the mint of his heavy breaths. "How dare you try to rob me?"

Felix circulated his breathing to keep from entering a minor state of panic. "I do hate to admit this, Uncle Gabriel, but you seem to be obsessed."

"Obsessed with reuniting my family!"

"At what cost?"

"There is no cost for wishing with the miraculous!"

"May I remind you that you are currently choking your innocent nephew?"

"Anyone trying to stop me is far from innocent!"

Felix felt a button press behind him, hidden in the shrouding darkness. A large circular window opened up, letting in moonlight and casting shadows underneath the flying butterflies. Uncle Gabriel wore the expression of utter calm, but his shaky voice gave away the truth. He was going to fall apart any minute now, and Felix was right in his hands. "I can have everything back…we can all have everything back."

"I doubt you understand the full implications of wishes. Nothing ever comes free in this world. I know you miss her. We all do. That doesn't make bending space and time right."

Gabriel was shaking just like his voice now, his grip tightening. He was unable to look Felix in the eye. "How can you try and stop me after all this time…after all Adrien and I have had to go through without her."

"…You've hurt people using Nooroo."

"For a good cause!" He glared at Felix. "Not that you would ever understand. You will never…I wish you could stay to see the reunion."

"…Where am I going?"

"…I would rather not say it aloud."

It would have been a terrifying threat, had Felix not been distracted by something coming at them through the window. Something black. Something with…

Cat ears.

 **Uncle Gabriel is going a bit crazy on poor Felix, but it seems as though help is on the way in the form of CAT EARS! But what happens when the heroes actually arrive? Felix knows a lot about each of them...what will it take to show everyone the light?**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	26. Absolutely Mesmerizing

The glass shattered. The butterflies scattered. Nooroo ducked out of sight. Chat Noir, Ladybug and Cammo landed in the center of the room with a flourish of their baton and yo-yo. Felix had hoped to greet them with his dignity intact, but Uncle Gabriel had not let him off the wall from his grip upon his collar. The room went eerily silent for a few seconds, until Chat Noir finally recognized Felix in the darkness. "Ladybug, HawkMoth is using Mr. Agreste to attack Felix! It has to be the work of an akuma!"

The duo readied to lunge with weapons in hand. Cammo noted Nooroo and flew over to his side. "How did you get here of all places?!"

Nooroo did not answer out of fear for what Uncle Gabriel would say. The man was wide-eyed and gritting his teeth, trying to compose himself. Cammo caught sight of his terrifying expression and gawked. "Felix, what on earth has HawkMoth done to that man?! He looks like he wants to strangle you!"

Felix decided not to tell his Kwami that Uncle Gabriel was about to strangle him. Instead he was focusing on Gabriel. "Put me down. You know Ladybug and Chat Noir will attack you, since they seem to believe you possessed by your own creation."

Reluctantly Uncle Gabriel set him to his feet, wrapped one arm around his shoulders and turned them to face the heroes. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged an expression of confusion. Cammo and Nooroo remained farther back. Gabriel cleared his throat, the wild look in his eyes magically suppressed.

"I apologize for worrying you two."

Ladybug cocked an eyebrow. "Worrying us?" She looked him over in the moonlight. "Hold on. I don't see any signs of an akuma, so…did you attack Felix, your own nephew, on purpose?!" She turned to Chat Noir. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Chat Noir turned back to her and smirked. "I never like telling you you're wrong, but I will say that you and I were duped. No way would Mr. Agreste attack anyone of his own accord. Tell her, Felix," he gave his cousin a smile, "what this whole misunderstanding it about."

"Allow me," Gabriel spoke up before Felix could reply, "after all, I was the one you assumed to be attacking. Felix is helping me learn self-defence in this special attic on the mansion, as a way of training me to protect myself in any sort of ambush. We were just practicing when you…well, burst through my perfectly fine window."

Ladybug sheepishly raised her yo-yo. "I can fix that…please don't sue us."

Gabriel actually chuckled. "No worries. I really am sorry you two and your little friend were so scared for the safety of Felix." He glanced over at Nooroo. "And I see your little creature has met an invention by one of my employers. Lifelike, isn't it?"

Cammo glanced at Nooroo, who bowed his head in shame. "…Wait. I thought you were Nooroo, the Kwami of the butterfly brooch?"

"…Toy," Nooroo hovered into the corner, "I am a toy."

Ladybug and Chat Noir were about to speak up. Felix knew they would never be stupid enough to fall for such a moronic lie. Clearly Nooroo was a Kwami trapped here by Agreste, and they would have enough proof for a search and arrest-

"Okay."

"Makes sense to us."

Felix was the one gawking now. Never in all his years had he heard something so atrociously idiotic spoken by intelligent persons! Yet Ladybug and Chat Noir shrugged off the presence of Nooroo as if Gabriel had spoken the truth! Even Cammo had a hard time looking at Nooroo the same way. "A toy, huh? Wow, it looks just like a Kwami I know!"

Poor Nooroo was shivering at the edge of the moonlight. Uncle Gabriel gave the group a nod before tightening his grip on Felix by the shoulders. "I assure you that this was all just a mistake. We can forget about this little incident and head on home now. Say goodnight, Felix," he gave him a withering glare that neither hero noticed. "We would never want to hold our heroes, now would we?"

Then it all fell into place. Fresh air blew into the metal room and surrounded them. Felix could feel the thickness of the Mesmer. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and now Cammo were being influenced by fairy magic. The blue figure Lila had seen was nearby. They were attempting to wipe away everything that had just occurred, but why? Why would the fairy want them to forget what they had learned? Is was almost like they were covering up for…

Oh.

 _Oh._

The last two weeks scrambled like letters in his brain, forming a huge explanation that should have been so obvious days before. How could he had been so blind?! It was all there, everything, from the miraculous to the Mesmer to Uncle Gabriel. His chats with Adrien. His discussion with Lila. It all led to two conclusion: the fairy and the way Gabriel was acting.

His uncle wanted him to send the heroes away so they would not face his wrath. He was trying to get him and Felix alone. Felix gazed over at Chat Noir, who was waiting for a goodbye. This was the moment he had been dreading.

Tell Adrien the truth and let him and Ladybug help stop HawkMoth?

Or send them away so he could arrest Gabriel in secret?

How badly he wanted to keep them safe. They were too young and innocent. Sure, he had been twelve when he became an agent, but those were different circumstances. He was alone and in need for an outlet and…and…

And so was Adrien. Perhaps Marinette, as well.

He had seen them fight. He had seen their skills. He knew Master Fu had to have some sort of wisdom to become a Master over the Kwami. All this time he had been afraid of letting them get hurt…

Chat Noir gave him a smile. A smile that told him that it was going to be okay.

But it wasn't.

 **Felix will be making a huge decision next chapter...which reminds me, I have to start getting caught up on my writing! I've been so busy worrying about all my school assignments that I sort of let my fanfiction slip! I'll do my very best to make sure I can continue posting chapters every other day for both this and "Dance of the Trickster", so please stay tuned and wish me the best!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	27. Revelations

"…Adrien."

The word was out in the room and no one knew how to react. Felix stood beside Uncle Gabriel. Ladybug and Chat Noir stood side by side. Cammo remained close to Nooroo, whom they still believed to be a toy. No one said anything else for ten seconds.

Then Ladybug squealed.

"A-A-A-Adrien A-A-Agreste?!"

Chat Noir was too stunned to respond. Felix would apologize once HawkMoth had been placed under proper arrest. Ladybug took up most of the air in the room with her hyperventilating and freaking out over the revelation.

"Nowaynowaynowaynowaynoway," she gave no time for breaths between her scrambling for words, "nooo, no, no, no, no, no!" She gawked at Chat Noir until he finally looked her in the eye. "Is it true? Are you Adrien Agreste?! Have you been Adrien this entire time?!"

Chat Noir had no choice but to reveal the truth. Felix had left no other option. The seed had been planted in her mind. "…Sorry if I disappoint you."

"DISAPPOINT?!" She madly shook her head as if trying to shake her mask off. "How could you ever disappoint someone?!"

Uncle Gabriel scoffed. "It would seem he finds it easy enough." His grip tightened. Felix thought he could permanently lose feeling in his left shoulder. "All this time you've been off playing. All those times I thought you were safe in the mansion…how could you?"

Chat Noir lowered his gaze. "I apologize, father, but I had to do it. I had to help keep Paris safe from HawkMoth. Paris needed me."

"I needed you home."

Ladybug stepped between them. "Adrien has been the best partner I could ever ask for, and while I have a hard time believing them to be the same person, Chat Noir and he have helped to save both Paris and myself plenty of times-"

"Marinette."

Her cheeks went red as her outfit at the name Felix gladly released. She slowly turned to see how Chat Noir had reacted. He remained silent for five seconds.

And then he squealed.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?!"

She wrung her hands in fear and let her gaze fall to her feet. "Guess _I'm_ the one who gets to be the disappointment."

Chat Noir slowly approached her and, putting his hand under her chin, lifted it so they were face to face. The smile he gave her was so sappy Felix swore he could taste syrup in the air. Maybe that was just the Mesmer.

"Why do you think I would ever consider you a disappointment?"

"How can I keep up knowing that behind that mask is…is…the boy I love?"

"You…love me?"

"Ever since you were willing to apologize and hand me that umbrella."

"I never knew…"

"It was so hard trying to speak to you."

"So all this time…you and I…wow."

"Wow indeed."

Uncle Gabriel was growing impatient. Felix coughed into his sleeve to get the attention of the heroes. He had meant for the truth to get them moving faster. "Now that you two know the truth, I believe we should move onto the biggest problem this evening…the identity of HawkMoth." It felt as though his throat were drying up. "Adrien. Marinette. I need your assistance is arresting a criminal…" He looked Chat Noir right in the eyes.

"Gabriel Agreste must pay for his crimes against humanity."

More silence. Felix felt like he was on a soap opera. Caught in an ending that keeps dragging on and on for drama. Unable to escape to the credits while the other characters try to deal with the shock of the situation. The only way out was for a surprise cameo to show up and somehow lead the conversation into a twist.

 _Ring-ring-ring._

It was the hands free phone Felix was wearing. Before he could answer it, Gabriel grabbed it off him and put it on his own ear. Once it was turned on he figured out how to put it on speaker. "Do share your thoughts, mysterious caller."

"Nice phony voice, Agent Agreste, but I took the training course in espionage just like you." Lila gave a lighthearted chuckle as everyone in the metal room fell silent in shock. Ladybug and Chat Noir mouthed 'agent?!' to one another. Uncle Gabriel glared daggers at Felix. Felix himself was doing his best not to smack himself. He had no time to warn Lila that the phony voice he trained to use was that of a woman. She had no idea, and Gabriel would never let him warn her. If she continued to talk-

"I sent you that photo of the blue clad figure. I managed to clean the shot up, and would you ever believe that I actually got their face on film?" She rummaged around on the other end. "Get this. The figure is a female of adult height. She wears an outfit similar to Ladybug and Chat Noir. So I would bet a hundred bucks that our fairy…is a miraculous holder!"

Ladybug frowned at Felix. "Lila knows?"

"Enough about me, though; I can leave the investigation to you from now on. I have tons of work for school. After all," she chuckled, "if I want to keep up the impression of a normal student, my homework has to be completed."

Now both heroes were exchanged looks of betrayal. Felix would have to tell them the truth if he hoped to keep the image of Lila positive.

"Tell me about your work," Lila said, "because I know you want to start investigating Agreste. I mean, it would be terrible if you found out that he was actually HawkMoth, because I am totally gonna knock his lights out for turning me into a villain…but," her voice softened, "how would we tell Adrien the truth? He has no mother. He has no other family that I know of. I mean, how could he stay with you? Agents cannot live with family. I hope…never mind. Forget about me for now. This is about completing the mission. We can worry about emotions-"

That was when Uncle Gabriel crushed the phone.

 **So many revelations in only a thousands words, and now our heroes are dealing with everything at once! Adrien is Chat Noir, Marinette is Ladybug, Gabriel is HawkMoth, and Lila is actually an ex-agent in disguise! Where can they go from here? And how are they gonna get past how strong Gabriel seems to be, even without his mask on?**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	28. Confession Session

If there had been any sanity left in Uncle Gabriel, is was gone the second he crushed the phone and cut off Lila. Felix could see the wild in his eyes. He would move aside and try bringing him down, had the grip on his shoulders not become iron.

"No," Chat Noir gave a choked sob, "you would never…father, you told us…" He looked around the attic as though for the first time. The butterflies. The window. Nooroo. The Mesmer was still in the air but his emotions were cancelling out its effects. "This is not happening. None of this is real! My father is not a criminal! He would never…never…" Then his voice gave out and he was on his knees, claws over his face, shaking his head. "Never. Never. Never."

Cammo shook away the last of the Mesmer. Clearly it had a weaker effect on Kwami. He floated down beside Nooroo again and held his hand. "Sorry about not believing you were real."

"I _am_ just a toy."

"Nuh-uh. You and I go way back."

Nooroo actually smiled. He hugged Cammo and broke into tears. "I wanna get away from him! I wanna be with a hero!"

 _Swack!_

Ladybug smacked her yo-yo against the floor and let the clanging echo silence the room. Sheer determination took over her movements. Felix found her stance reminiscent of other agents. She really was as much the hero as Master Fu believed. "Tel us the truth, Mr. Agreste: are you or are you not HawkMoth? Know that if you intend to lie," she had a similar glare to Ms. Hiarthanu, "I will get the truth out of you." She stepped over and crouched beside Chat Noir, placing a hand on his back. Her eyes never left Uncle Gabriel. "No one hurts my partner and thinks they can get away with it."

Uncle Gabriel took the entire situation into account as he gripped Felix. Chat Noir and Ladybug, Cammo and Nooroo, and Felix were waiting for his answer, though everyone knew the truth. He would have to be an idiot to try lying his way out. In the end he had lost control. Felix may have been in his grip, but that wasn't to say that is gave Gabriel the upper hand. In fact, Felix had over a dozen different ways of subduing the man. He just needed provocation…

Finally there was movement from his uncle. Gabriel let out a breath and shifted his ascot aside. It was enough to get Chat Noir looked up again, only to gasp. There rested the miraculous. Brooch glowing in the moonlight. "Father," he had such a quiet voice now, "why?"

"A wish."

Ladybug helped Chat Noir to his feet before turning back to Gabriel. "You wreak havoc over the city for a wish?"

"To bring my wife back to life."

Chat Noir widened his eyes. "You…you want to…you can...do that?"

"So your Master never told you the truth, then." Uncle Gabriel gave his son a sad smile. It gave Felix a sick feeling in his stomach. "Should all miraculous be brought together, any wish can be granted to the wielder. I have been trying to collect the miraculous to bring her back. As soon as I have your two, I can get the rest. I already have the peacock brooch."

Felix zoned out while his uncle continued explaining his plan to the heroes. Obviously Felix was the only one who was connecting dots. Everyone else had been compromised by their emotions. Everything made sense now. In less than one month he had figured it all out. It was going to take months to get over the truth, but he had further training for emotional balance. It was Adrien that he worried for. Him, and-

"No way," Ladybug snapped once Gabriel had explained everything he knew and wanted, "you expect us to give you our miraculous for something so…so…so wrong?!"

Chat Noir said nothing. His only movement was to take Ladybug by the hand and keep her close. She squeezed his finger out of pity. "I am so sorry about this, partner, but how can we let him do this with all the risks?"

Uncle Gabriel looked directly at Chat Noir. Directly at Adrien. "You would stop me from saving your own mother?"

Chat Noir was not looking at Gabriel. He was looking at Felix. The two had a silent agreement about everything that had happened. It felt almost surreal to Felix that so much could be said to his cousin after being gone for so long. All this time he had been severely underestimating how mature Adrien and Marinette were.

He knew then what had to be done.

 _They_ knew then what had to be done.

"I miss her, too," Chat Noir spoke to his father in as kind a voice as he could muster through his tears, "but for you to do all of this? To spread fear throughout Paris? You could have just asked us for help. You could have come and talked to Master Fu. Instead you chose to cause trouble. I could never…mother could never let you do this. I'm sorry, father," his lip trembled, "but this is too risky. Even for someone as deserving as mother."

Ladybug gave his hand another squeeze. "Thank you, Adrien."

He squeezed her hands back. "Thank you, Marinette."

As more amateurish agents would proclaim, "the jig was up" for Uncle Gabriel, and he knew it. His grip on Felix was loosening. Ladybug and Chat Noir would subdue him while Felix made a few calls here and there. By the morning HawkMoth would be in the hands of fellow agents. He would have more than enough time to get to the peacock brooch and-

"I had faith in you." Gabriel gave Chat Noir one final pleading look. "I had hoped you would be there, by my side, when I brought her back."

"…I can't."

"…I know that now." He gripped the brooch and sighed.

That was when all chaos broke loose in the Agreste mansion.

 **Things are really gonna start getting dicey these next few chapters, so be sure to keep up, because I am not going easy on any of your favourite characters! Also, someone wanted to know what will become of Cammo's crush on Ladybug? Fear not, for all is going according to plan. I just hope you guys will forgive me for the way that plan is gonna wrap up...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	29. Bang, Bang, into the Table!

It started with the white butterflies still lingering around in the attic. They gathered around Chat Noir and Ladybug and began slicing back and forth in front of their eyes and hands, trapping the duo in a blinding tornado. An offshoot of the butterfly group dove at Cammo, shoving him off of Nooroo and tossing him back and forth.

"Stop! Stop them, Felix! _Felix_! _FFFEEELLLIIIXXX_!"

He would surely have been at the side of the Kwami in seconds had Uncle Gabriel not pinned his arms behind his back and started dragging him back to the platform. He was unable to break free from his iron grip. "Nooroo," he snapped at the quivering Kwami, "where has his superhuman strength come from?"

"T-The price," Nooroo screeched over the whipping of butterfly wings, "the p-price of u-using the brooch for e-evil is…is…t-turning into an unbeatable m-m-monster!"

At first it made no sense to Felix. Gabriel drew them onto the platform as Ladybug tried to whip the butterflies away, only for her yo-yo to be yanked out of her hands. Chat Noir lost his baton just as quickly. "Felix," he called out, unable to see, "wait for us! Father, please, let him go! We can move past this!"

Gabriel only tightened his grip on Felix as the platform began to descend. "I gave you a chance. I gave you both a chance! Now I alone shall bring her back!"

"Ladybug, Chat Noir," Felix called out, "do not involve the pol-"

Too late. He and Gabriel vanished beneath the metal floor, leaving the heroes and Cammo up above while Nooroo was forcefully sucked back into the brooch behind the ascot. Before they had reached the ground, Gabriel shoved Felix off the platform. The agent crashed into one of the tables, scattering papers as he slid to the floor in a painful heap. The platform slunk back into the floor again as Gabriel stepped off. "I do hope that little show of power has weakened your grip and resolve."

It certainly had an effect on his grip. As Felix staggered to his feet he felt pain rush up his wrists. He had left his weapons in his room, but even if he got there his aim would be slightly off. Being slightly off got most agents killed. He slowed his heartrate and focused on the office. He needed the layout memorized in seconds.

"Nooroo lied to you," Gabriel kept across the room from Felix, "saying that the price of using the brooch would make me a monster."

"The price of misusing the brooch," Felix countered, "is enhanced strength for a limited amount of time. Once that time runs out, you-"

"I will have my wife back before that happens!"

"You cannot raise her!"

"Why?!"

Felix had thought it through while being dragged onto the platform. The pieces were finally fit as a whole explanation in his mind. He had to give Ladybug and Chat Noir time to get out and after them. He looked Uncle Gabriel right in the eyes.

"Aunt Tiffany is alive."

Gabriel let his jaw drop ever so slightly. Felix knew his attention was on one thing now: getting an explanation out of his nephew. He fixed his tie and put a hand on the table, ignoring how sore his everything was. "The brooch appearing on your bed. The Mesmer coating the air and keeping Parisians from figuring out your identities. The blue figure darting around the city. I get it now. I know where your wife is."

"…Tell me." He waited for Felix to speak. Felix said nothing. "…I said _tell me_!" He stormed up to Felix and reached for his arm, only for Felix to smack his hand away. "If you know where she is and think you can just walk away without telling me-"

"This information is private."

Tense silence took over the office. Felix stepped away from his uncle and glanced up at where the platform would enter the ceiling. Ladybug and Chat Noir were still up there, fighting off the butterflies. He needed to stall. Unfortunately, his gift for asking too many questions would only get him in further trouble. Gabriel was too unstable at the moment. Besides, he had a guess as to why Aunt Tiffany was away, and he had to respect her wishes despite his own feelings…for now.

"Traitor."

Felix glanced back at Gabriel, but his uncle was gone. No one stood at the table. Felix turned to open the office doors-

 _BAM!_

Having slipped behind Felix and gotten into costume, HawkMoth smacked his staff against the back of Felix's neck, sending the agent sprawling to the floor inches from the doors. Felix saw spots cluttering at the edges of his vision as he got to his knees. "And here I believed you were a villain who sent out henchmen for the dirty work."

HawkMoth pat his staff against the open palm of his hand. He allowed Felix to stand before him. "I can handle myself."

"Think about what Nooroo said. Eventually your strength will turn you into a monster."

"How kind of you to worry," his voice grew deeper and edgier, "but I can take care of myself. As for you and your heroes," he spat, "you can wait while I complete my mission."

"I already told you-"

"And if you want to keep Marinette and Adrien safe," he pointed to the ceiling, "you will tell me all you know about her location."

Felix could hear Ladybug and Chat Noir banging on the metal floor of the attic, trying to get the platform to lower. He had two choices: try and press the button again to activate the platform, or try and escape the mansion. There had to be a secret entrance somewhere beyond the office, and if he could find it…

It would mean leaving his cousin and an innocent girl behind. They could handle this. Together. He knew what his choice had to be.

He would have to fight his way past HawkMoth to get to the button.

 **Man, poor Felix is getting thrown and punched every which way in this chapter, and trust me, it is only gonna get worse. ..mwah-ha-ha :) I mean, yeah, it hurts as a writer to have to hurt your characters, but trust me, things are gonna work out! All he needs to do is get past his crazy uncle who has superpowers and press a hidden button somewhere...easy...totally easy...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	30. Hand to Hand

HawkMoth had no butterflies. Felix had no weapons.

Hand to hand combat it was.

HawkMoth made the first move with a swift jab of his staff towards Felix. The agent bent back to save his nose from being broken, before dropping and spinning on his hands, kicking out his Uncle's legs from beneath him. As HawkMoth fell, Felix reached out for the staff, but the villain was too fast and slid out of reach. Both got to their feet again and grimaced. Neither was getting out of this unscratched.

Banging from the ceiling. Ladybug and Chat Noir were trying to get out. Cammo was nowhere to be seen. Felix kicked at HawkMoth but was unable to make contact. He closed the space and tried a couple punches in succession, but his adversary was quick on his feet, easily evading each possible injury. He swung his staff out only for the orb on top to slice past Felix's cheek. They were at the center of the office now. Felix was halfway to the button…until HawkMoth smirked. A terrible development.

"They will not be joining us."

His staff finally made contact with Felix by his arm, shoving the agent back a foot. Felix barely has time to get his footing before the villain closed the gap again, grabbing him by the shoulders and bringing his gut to his knee. The impact forced out a cough from Felix. HawkMoth stepped back so Felix could hit the ground on his own knees, glowering.

"I may not be a secret agent," HawkMoth dusted his staff off, "but Nooroo has explained that, as a miraculous user, my strength has greatly increased. There is no price. No matter how long I use super strength outside of the mask, I will not be turning into a monster." He sneered. "Nooroo is a wonderful teacher when it comes to combat."

Of course. Nooroo has been partnered with previous miraculous heroes for thousands of years. Felix stood and slowed his breathing. He was facing someone who had years of experience over him, even if he had just started training. This was how Ladybug and Chat Noir were so quick to combat. All three were slowly being trained through their miraculous by some sort of magic left over from previous heroes.

Felix was the amateur and Gabriel knew it.

He lunged at HawkMoth and grabbed the staff with both hands, forcing the duo to try and pry it from each other. Felix yanked it towards his chest. "You have to stop this before someone ends up far worse than akumatized!"

HawkMoth yanked it closer to himself. "You have to stop before that someone ends up being _you_!"

More banging from above, followed by a shriek by Ladybug. Felix risked a glance back at where the platform was supposed to enter the ceiling. The sight has him silently cursing – over half a dozen white wings were squeezing through the invisible, circular crack, trying desperately to get to the staff to be imbued with dark energy. He had only seconds before the office was swarmed. He had only seconds before he would be the next akuma target.

"Such a shame," HawkMoth whispered as he tugged Felix close, "for you to be so persistent with getting in my way. Tiffany would have loved to see you again."

Felix needed to get out of the office. Now. Using a newer technique recently taught at S.P.I.E.S., he twisted the staff in their grip, turned his body around and, flipping HawkMoth over his body, slammed his uncle into the floor. Before HawkMoth could regain his footing Felix was off and out of the office. If he opened the platform now the butterflies would be in with him, Chat Noir and Ladybug. He needed an advantage, and fast.

The mirror shard spray was about to wear out. He stepped on the bottle and reset for twenty more minutes before the security system was set off. The fewer people around, the better. Natalie and the bodyguard were likely to be out of sight. Gabriel would have seen to it that he and Felix had privacy, just in case something extreme occurred.

Such as now.

 _Swack!_

Something hard and sharp hit Felix in the back of his neck, knocking him to his stomach. Spots were really dancing in his vision now as he struggled back up. The shock of the hit sent painful shivers down his spine. He glanced back to find a stapler at his feet. HawkMoth was standing in the mirror shard spray.

"Good to know my aim is just as strong as I am."

There were butterflies beginning to slip into the office behind him, and the doors were wide open to leave little obstacle between them and Felix. He bit down the pain and continued running. If he could just get to his private room. He was nearing the stairs-

"Alberto."

Felix halted atop the stairs. The bodyguard stepped out from the shadows at the bottom. With his arms spread out it was clear he would be stopping anyone from coming down. HawkMoth spoke, but his voice was more so that of Uncle Gabriel than the villain. "Stop him! He tried to hurt me and Adrien! We have to get him some psychiatric help!"

Felix looked back to find HawkMoth locking himself in the office. The bodyguard had no idea he was following the orders of HawkMoth. Felix had no chance of convincing him. From uncle to bodyguard, he was back to square one.

Fighting.

Alberto the silent bodyguard peered up at Felix. The agent would have to subdue him before he could get to his room. With a sigh he gave the bodyguard one last look of pity. "Sorry we have to do this the hard way."

Alberto charged him, only for Felix to jump over his arms, shove off his shoulder and gracefully land at the bottom of the stairs. The bodyguard spun around to charge again but was unable to see him in the darkness. Slowly he stepped down to the bottom and peeked around the corner to the main staircase.

 _BANG!_

 **The fighting continues as Felix desperately tries to get to his room for backup weapons. How many more obstacles will fall in his wake before he can finally have the advantage over HawkMoth? This story is slowly beginning to wrap itself up, and I have no plans for a sequel, so I had better make it a real good show, huh ;)**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	31. Hope, Trust, and a Little Kwami Dust

The large portrait of Gabriel and Adrien that had hung top the stairs fell onto Alberto with a bang and knocked him out cold. Felix was surprised at how heavy it was.

"Naturally you went for the heaviest frame," Felix murmured to himself as he ran to his private room, "in case anyone came to attack you." It was strange knowing now why his uncle had so many precautions in the mansion. He reached the other top hall and grabbed the doorknob of his room. As he opened the door, he wondered what else Gabriel could have prepared…and then he gawked at his room.

"…Drat."

Everything had vanished, from the furniture to his luggage. It was as if nothing had ever touched the interior. He stepped inside and felt around the walls. They were cold as ice. Apparently his uncle had upgraded the mansion while he had been away training with S.P.I.E.S. He had to find out where everything went.

"Natalie it out," HawkMoth called across the mansion, his voice echoing off the walls of every hallway, "and our heroes are locked away. You just knocked out your only hope of surviving me. Let this be your final lesson."

Felix slammed the door shut. No point trying to hide his location. HawkMoth knew where he had been heading. He leaned against the door and shut his eyes. He needed to straighten out his mind before facing his uncle again.

"Felix!"

Cammo popped through the door and hovered in front of him. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have no chance of getting through the platform! Every time Chat tries to summon his cataclysm, one of the butterflies flies right into his mouth! We have to get back and open it for them so we can stop HawkMoth together!"

"If I go back then HawkMoth will akumatize me."

"Not if you put the costume back on. Superheroes are impervious to akumatization!"

"How do you know?"

Cammo opened his mouth to answer before shutting it in defeat. "No one knows for sure. I guess we just have to hope."

"You want me to stake the fate of the mission on _hope_?"

The Kwami looked Felix in the eyes with incredible determination. "I want you to stake the fate of the mission on _trust_."

Felix had no comeback. He had never truly worked with partners in the five years S.P.I.E.S had been training him. Now he had a partner. Now he had someone to trust. If he transformed into Gecko again then he would have the same strength the previous miraculous holders had, running through his veins.

It would mean humbling himself to the help of magic.

It would mean putting agency behind heroism.

Cammo tilted his head. "…Felix?"

Felix sighed again before looking back up at his partner.

"Cammo…BLEND IN!"

* * *

It took only minutes for the entirety of the Agreste mansion to be swarmed with butterflies, each as white as the walls but quick to land on whatever moved. HawkMoth stood atop the main stairs and looked around. Alberto laid beneath the portrait. Ladybug and Chat Noir had gone silent. He was alone with his nephew again, just as he wanted.

And now, just as Gecko wanted.

Something invisible bashed into the side of HawkMoth, sending him sprawling to the floor. He sat up and swung his staff around, but he made contact with nothing. "Felix!"

Felix did a backflip down the stairs. "The name is Gecko," he spoke, releasing his breath and appearing before his uncle, "and you will be handing the staff over."

HawkMoth grit his teeth and charged, swinging the staff wildly. As it neared his head Felix was quick to duck before giving his own charge, grabbing HawkMoth by the waist and slamming the duo back at the top of the stairs on his back. In retaliation he brought the staff down on Felix by the neck, pinning his head to HawkMoth's chest. "Aw," his uncle sarcastically gave an ominous coo, "if you wanted some bonding time, you could have simply asked."

Felix managed to shift his head in such a way so he could look his uncle in the eyes. For a long moment he said nothing. It was odd hearing a human heartbeat beneath the purple costume. Then he smirked.

"You call it bonding."

Felix swung his legs up over his body and planted his feet on HawkMoth's shoulder, bending his back as though it were made of rubber. HawkMoth gawked and loosened his grip on the staff. It was enough for Felix to grab it and swing his body around until he was standing on the shoulders of his uncle. He leaped off and back to the bottom of the stairs with the staff in hand. HawkMoth stumbled to his feet as his nephew gripped the staff tighter.

"I call it strategy."

HawkMoth was breathing heavily. His voice was as loud as humanly possible, every word ready to bounce off the walls and knock Felix flat. "What have we ever done to you?! How can you do this knowing that I am the only one who can bring Tiffany back?!"

Felix straightened his posture and studied his reflection in the staff. Though the butterflies were giving off faint light to illuminate the mansion, it was his night vision that allowed him to see his smirk slowly fade. "…I loved her just as you did. As family."

"No one ever loved her like I did!"

"If you truly love her than you have to-"

"Have to what?! Let her go?!" HawkMoth madly gestured to the portrait atop his bodyguard. "I am finished with people telling me to move on!"

"And if she herself told you to move on?"

Silence fell throughout the mansion as his words sunk in. HawkMoth gazed down at Felix in his gecko costume. "…You really do know where she is."

"I have my suspicions. Let me talk to her and prove to you that this," he held the staff up, "is not the answer."

And then an explosion knocked Felix off his feet.

 **Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. I remember writing this and just thinking, "how do I end this chapter with a bang...oh, duh. End it with a literal BANG!" You guys get to find out what happened next chapter, and it is so not what you are expecting, trust me. Even as I was writing it I was utterly astonished, but honestly, with the way the story has been going, it just sort of fell into place.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	32. How Explosive a Development

By the time Felix had regained his balance and the smoke had cleared, there was a gaping hole in the front of the mansion. The blast had broken not only through the front doors, but the pure iron slate that had been protecting it for the night. Fresh air flooded into the foyer and butterflies flew out to freedom. Shrapnel was strewn about the floor and steps. HawkMoth backed up against the wall atop the staircase. "Who did that?!"

A lone figure stood before the mansion, though sirens were blaring in the distance. Felix knew it wasn't Ladybug or Chat Noir, so who…?!

The young lady walked into the mansion, heeled clacking against the tiled floor, face hidden by a pair of black sunglasses, body wrapped in a tight black jumper, and long hair running all the way down her back. In her hand was a stick of pure red dynamite. It wasn't until she spoke that Felix truly recognized her.

" _No one_ hangs up on Agent Anvers."

HawkMoth had eyes as wide as a real gecko. "Where does a student get dynamite?!"

Lila tossed the stick in the air a few times as she smiled. "I may be an ex-agent, but I still have a few favours to call in here and there."

Ladybug and Chat Noir ran in and stood one either side of Lila. Felix watched his cousin study the huge opening. "We heard an explosion and fled back out the attic window. I never thought it would be…wow."

Lila glanced at Ladybug. "I assume you two know who I am?"

Ladybug crossed her arms and looked away with a huff. "You lied to us again."

"I had to blend in to lead a normal life."

"Sorry for not believing you."

"Sorry for wanting to have a regular family."

Ladybug turned back to Lila as the ex-agent gave her a sad smile. "You are a wonderful friend, Marinette, as is Adrien. I wanted to be your friends, but I also had to try getting akumatized to analyze HawkMoth. It was a bust," she shrugged, "and so I had to keep up the lying to be as in character as I could."

Chat Noir also crossed his arm, though in a more mocking manner. "So you never actually had a crush on me?"

"I prefer redheads."

Felix looked back to HawkMoth, and soon all eyes were on the villain as he stood at the top of the stairs and looked down with what little dignity he had left. His anger had fizzled away into a deep sense of failure that hung on his brow. He only had eyes for Chat Noir, though, and the two of them shared a silent conversation until Lila coughed into her arm. "I hate to break this up, but I sort of made a call and the police are on their way."

The sirens were growing louder. Ladybug glanced out the opening. Felix caught sight of over a hundred dynamite remains. Clearly his uncle had been a tad cheap on the iron. Typical Agreste arrogance…himself included. "You called the police?"

"No."

A helicopter was closing in the mansion from a great distance.

"I called the cavalry."

Felix knew Ms. Hiarthanu was not going to be happy knowing he had teamed up with an ex-agent, but he was glad for the backup. He only hoped she had chosen to stay behind and not give the spy duo a lengthy lecture.

"Felix."

All eyes were back to HawkMoth as he turned to his nephew. "If you can prove to me that this is what Tiffany would despise…then do it."

"Will you give me the brooch?"

"Only if you can show me the truth!"

Lila smirked. "We intend to hold you to that." She stuck her thumb out over her shoulder. "Felix, you and Chat should head out to the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug and I can take care of HawkMoth for the police and S.P.I.E.S."

Ladybug glanced at Chat Noir. "Are you okay with this?"

"He has to be," Felix walked over and handed Lila the staff, "if we ever hope to fix this without anyone having to battle it out like some sort of cartoon." He put a hand on Chat's shoulder. "We can take care of each other."

Chat smiled at the group. "Gecko is right. We can handle the blue clad figure. You guys…," he even managed to give his father a weak smile, "take care of him."

HawkMoth had to look away. The police were right around the corner. Alberto the bodyguard was groaning beneath the portrait. Lila slapped Felix hard on the back, thankfully without the dynamite in her hand. "Go get them, tiger…er, gecko."

Together Felix and Chat Noir ran out of the mansion and jumped onto the outer wall. They saw the police and helicopter coming close. Chat pointed behind the mansion. "We have to get there before anyone catches us for questioning…Felix," he whispered, "is my father going to be able to get out of this?"

Felix gave Chat his best smile. "Trust Lila to handle this."

"And Ladybug."

"You mean Marinette?"

He could see the blush on his cousin's cheeks as they raced off. Even in the darkest of nights he knew Adrien had found something light to hold onto.

* * *

The Eiffel Tower was empty save for a couple stragglers looking to catch the bus. Felix and Chat Noir leaped over their vision and onto the legs of the structure. They decided on aiming for the top to give themselves the best view. The blue clad miraculous holder was sure to be nearby, but Lila had been unable to give exact whereabouts.

"Felix," Chat asked once they were beginning their ascent, "do you honestly think this stranger can solve all our problems?"

"Not all of them," he replied as they passed the first floor, "but there is a good chance that, come the morning, her answers could very well save everyone – even Uncle Gabriel – from the power of the miraculous wish."

 **Sorry, no comments - got tendinitis in the wrist.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	33. Fair, Fairy Mad

Felix and Chat Noir made it to the top floor of the Eiffel Tower sooner than expected. Chat Noir was so nervous about what they would find that his adrenaline filled muscles sent him shooting up the metal. Felix was determined not to let anything harm his cousin and kept up, until they were looking over the entire District. Side by side they watched people the size of ants traversing the streets, returning home or working late shifts at the many small stores. There was nothing out of place on the tower. Silence hung on their shoulders.

"Where does Lila want us to wait for the miraculous holder?" Chat peered around the tower but found nothing and no one out of place. "Maybe she got the location wrong."

"Lila rarely get her facts wrong. If she wants us to meet here, then we meet here."

"You put a lot of trust in her."

"You think me wrong for doing so?"

Chat crossed his arms and shrugged. "She keeps lying to us. I know she wants a normal life, but she can trust us."

"Agents deal with people willing to slaughter." He did not wince as Chat did when he said it. "If she thought you and the others would be in danger, then she did the right thing by keeping you out of the loop."

"Not anymore. We all know the truth now."

"Almost."

Felix and Chat Noir spun around at the new voice speaking over them. A tall woman in a tight blue suit and feathery cape stood at the point of the Eiffel Tower. Her eyes were hidden behind a long blue mask and her hair was done up in a navy do. Her gaze pierced through them as she let her smile slip into a smirk. "There are still a few secrets that remain to be viewed by such young heroes."

Chat Noir readied his claws. He had no idea who was behind the mask. Felix had no chance to tell him the truth before they were ambushed. "What do you have to do with HawkMoth? What have you done to my father?!" Felix had to put an arm in front of him to keep his cousin from climbing up to her. "We need answers!"

Felix had to tell him, but if he did now, then it would keep him from properly acting-

"How unkind," she spoke quietly, "talking to your mother in such a tone."

So much for keeping his emotions under control. Felix shot Aunt Tiffany a look as Chat Noir let his voice and lips tremble. "You…we… _mother_?"

"It has been a long time, sweet Adrien," she cooed, "and I do wish we could have spoken earlier. I would tell you everything here and now, but Felix has a few things he needs to explain before he bursts. Go ahead, dear nephew," she mockingly bowed, "and tell us everything."

"Gladly." Felix crossed his arms and turned to Chat Noir. He had to speak to Adrien with clarity if he was going to get everything out at once. "Adrien…the woman beneath that mask…Tiffany is not who you think she is."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Indeed," she made a purring sound, "what are you talking about?"

Felix never took his eyes off Chat Noir as he spoke. He barely paused for a breath. "I told you my job has me working with the supernatural and paranormal. I face monsters, aliens and species considered too fantastical to exist – and that includes fairies, like the ones that took my mother away. Aunt Tiffany did vanish all those months ago…because she was kidnapped by fairies. She joined the fairies, Adrien, and now she too controls their magic."

"I'll keep it simple because three figures standing atop the tower will draw attention soon. If you are taken by fairies you have two options: die by their hands or become one of them. Tiffany has done the latter. She uses Mesmer to keep people from figuring out your identities. She also used it to sneak into the mansion and give Gabriel the butterfly brooch. She stole Nooroo and the peacock Kwami away from Master Fu and he never knew. All this time your mother has watched you and your father fight."

Aunt Tiffany began to applaud. "You really know your stuff. Those fairies in the west really do know how to make trouble. Sorry to hear about Cordelia, but she was a lightweight. Makes sense she died at the hands of some of the lightest creatures on Earth."

Felix felt very unprofessional for the way his emotions were swinging around in his mind. It was Adrien's turn to put a hand on his cousin's shoulder to keep him from lunging at Tiffany. "How can you say these things, mother?" His voice was broken. "You were kidnapped. I am sorry we never found you…but what happened? What have those fairies done to you? Where are they now and how do we stop them?"

Felix shook his head. "That's not how fairies work. They kidnap, kill or turn, and then they leave for another city. Tiffany is the only fairy in Paris. They left Tiffany here to cause chaos and put you against your father."

"Why?!"

Felix finally looked back to Tiffany and her grin. "The longer a Mesmer has hold over such a big gathering of peoples, such as a city, the more powerful it becomes. Soon enough the Mesmer can start making people see things that aren't there. You and Ladybug fighting against akumas and HawkMoth has helped to strengthen the control of the Mesmer."

Chat Noir turned with a plea in his eyes to his mother. "You have to stop this! You need to come back and see father! Take away the Mesmer and we can pretend this never happened!"

She began to cackle.

"Mother!"

Felix held him back. "Enough, Adrien. When a fairy turns a human the mind weakens."

"So?"

"…"

"…No."

"Sorry, Adrien," Felix spoke over the howling of Tiffany, "but the fairies have…driven your mother insane."

 **Sorry this is being posted so late, just got back from a retreat. Anyway, this story is officially starting to wrap up, but not before we deal with the truth of the peacock miraculous - Mrs. Agreste has gone fairy mad! How can Chat Noir and Gecko hope to save her? Because in the line of work for agents, there will always be a price for saving those who hold dear...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	34. Mother Knows Best?

A pang of jealousy rolled around Felix's heart as he and Chat Noir watched Aunt Tiffany let out another, more joyous cackle. His mother had no time to make her decision when the fairies took her off the railing and dropped her into the Grand Canyon. She was gone. Tiffany could still be seen and spoken to…only now, she had been driven mad.

"Someday I hope to meet the rare good fairies," he murmured, "but until then, S.P.I.E.S. is stuck dealing with those magical monsters."

Aunt Tiffany wiped away a tear and rubbed her gut to sooth it after her laughter. She looked both ominous and beautiful in her suit, cape and mask, and yet her wild eyes were screaming for help. "The fairies stole me away from the mansion while I was walking around the yard. I was only a petite woman trying to clear her mind. They brought me to where no one could see us, near the water by an empty warehouse, and there they offered me the choice: die, or join their ranks. How could I give it up? I would have my own magic! I agreed, and they gave me my own powers. No wings because I was human, but enough magic to cause chaos."

Chat Noir grit his teeth. "Why do you even want chaos?!"

"Felix never told you? Fairies are connected to nature, and nature is not just plants and animals - nature is human emotion. Sure, happy emotions can be powerful," she sneered, "but not nearly as much as anger and fear! I will feed off the terror you and HawkMoth have created! Every akuma only gives me more power! I will rule Paris! Fairies will have their own kingdom amongst you humans!"

Felix sighed. She was too far gone for talking now. If he could just get her somewhere quiet, if he could get some assistance from the researchers of S.P.I.E.S, then there was a chance. "Chat, I need your help taking her down."

Chat looked at his boots. "How can I fight my own mother?"

"The same way you were willing to fight your father when I was in danger."

Chat looked his cousin in the eyes. Then he gave the tiniest of smiles. "Why do I have a feeling you can fix all this?"

"We agents have dealt with far worse than crazy fashion designer wives."

Tiffany frowned at the duo as they turned back to her with fists out and postures struck for battle. "You really want to fight me? Adrien, Felix…Chat Noir, Gecko…you poor things. Those silly miraculous have been too long upon your weary shoulders. Fear not," she spread her cape out like wings, "for Madame Paon shall save you!"

Felix knew they had little time before S.P.I.E.S. came for them. Ladybug and Lila had Gabriel in the mansion under custody. They needed the agents back there. He and Chat Noir could handle Madame Paon, but only if they could take her down together and alone-

She jumped before he could finish his thoughts. High into the air she flew before rolling up and spinning down towards them, one leg stuck out like a knife. Felix and Chat Noir split up just in time to doge her leg as it came down hard on the tower, denting the metal. She stood and spun around, cape swirling and hiding her limbs.

"Gecko," Chat Noir called out over the whishing of her cape feathers, "go at her at the same time before she can run away!"

Felix knew she had no intention of running and was about to tell Adrien as such, but the long leg of Madame Paon shot out and jabbed into his stomach, bending him over as he gasped for breath. Chat tried moving around her to get to his side, but she was too quick and clocked his chin with her fist. He stumbled back and hit the metal on his hip. Felix stood back up and jammed his own fist into her spine, knocking her down beside her son.

The next three minutes were a flurry of strikes and blocks. Chat kept to her right and Felix to her left. She managed to keep off most of their hits, but three minutes in her face was drenched with sweat. She had little practice actually fighting. She was too used to watching from the sidelines. Chat brought her to her knees by pinning her arms behind her back. Felix noticed the brooch on her chest, keeping the cape attached to her suit.

"It was so easy," she said when she noted him staring at the miraculous. "Fu never knew I was in his apartment. I had seen him moving the miraculous into the parlor a week before the fairies had found me. I went back, took the peacock and butterfly – only able to grab two before the green Kwami could spot me – and gave Gabriel one. I knew he would be driven to find me. I knew the best way to rule Paris was through him and you heroes."

Chat looked to Felix. "Please help her get better."

He nodded and grabbed the brooch. As he pulled it off her outfit vanished. Aunt Tiffany knelt on the Eiffel Tower in a violet blouse, white coprees and slippers. She had her blonde hair in a long ponytail that curved at the end. She gave Felix a kind smile. "How kind of you."

He held the brooch to the moonlight. The Kwami remained inside, likely resting after the fight. "For lightening your shoulders?"

She politely shook her head and gave her smile to Chat Noir. He smiled back and let her go, and soon they were embraced in a long hug. She glanced back at Felix.

"For giving me a second chance."

Then her fist connected with Chat, knuckles to nose, and he hit the Eiffel Tower like a limp rag. Felix nearly crushed the brooch in frustration as Aunt Tiffany giggled.

"A second chance at _ending you_."

 **Looks like there are more family troubles Felix will have to be dealing with - like how hard is he supposed to hit his aunt to take her down while not breaking anything?! How much is it gonna cost to get a psychiatrist to look after her because fairies turned her mad?! What will it cost to fix the Eiffel Tower after she went and busted it with her leg?!**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	35. Agents vs Air

Ladybug and Lila were back at the mansion. Chat Noir was out for the count. Felix once again found himself standing alone against his family. Aunt Tiffany clenched her hands into fists and smirked at him. He gave no such expression. He gave _no_ expression.

"Felix Agreste. Lovely the way you use others to get what you want. Reminds me of Gabriel."

"Chat Noir came to help save you."

"You two only wanted the miraculous."

"You are not a fairy," he took a menacing step forward, "you are a wife. You are a mother. You are a relative. You may be able to control Mesmer, but that does not mean you have to live like fairies do."

Tiffany tilted her head. "Why did you come to Paris?"

He glanced down at the brooch in his scaled hand. "I came here to take the miraculous from Chat Noir, Ladybug and HawkMoth. Instead I found myself accepting them as heroes and helping to finally stop HawkMoth. Then Lila mentions you and everything falls into place." She looked up at her. "This all started because you agreed to the terms of a fairy. No one would be the wiser so long as S.P.I.E.S. never got involved."

She chuckled and gave a half-hearted shrug. "And yet you only helped me further."

Felix watched her raise a finger and being to swirl it round and round and round. The sky over Paris began to churn like translucent soup. She was beginning to control the entirety of the Mesmer, creating a suffocating humidity that made breathing almost impossible. The Mesmer was like an invisible blanket ready to drop over the buildings and streets. Aunt Tiffany glanced over the side of the Eiffel Tower. "All I have to do is drop the air, and everything – you the agent, Ladybug and Chat Noir the heroes, HawkMoth the villain, akumas the minions – all of Paris will be stuck in a never-ending nightmare. I will become as powerful as a…a god."

In all his years at S.P.I.E.S. Felix had never come across someone so far gone. He had no idea if he could save her…or even stop her. Chat was the only one who could help, and he had yet to stir from the knockout.

"I only want to control the city, Felix, so you need not worry. The world is too big for me…but I may know a few fellow fairies that would _love_ ruling the planet."

As she smiled again he noticed the Mesmer falling over her head. Despite how little oxygen his lungs were taking in he managed to focus on the sight. She was already in the Mesmer…no…she had been in the Mesmer the entire time.

She was never in control of the Mesmer.

The fairies had used her.

The fairies were here.

 _Behind him._

Felix jumped over Aunt Tiffany as sharp fingers sliced the air where his neck had just been. As he landed beside the unconscious Chat Noir, his aunt began to hoot and holler like a teenager at a football game. "My sisters are always welcome in the city of fairies!"

"Gecko!"

Ladybug landed on the Eiffel Tower beside Chat Noir, Lila slipping off her back with a bag over her own shoulder. Ladybug knelt beside Cha as he groaned and looked around. "M'lady," he still managed a flirtatious smile, "how kind of you to save me."

She helped him to his feet. Aunt Tiffany continued to holler at slithering movements through the Mesmer. Lila dropped the bag between her and Felix. "Let me guess," she eyed him, "we got an infestation?"

"Indeed."

"Fairies?"

"Yes."

She let out a long sigh before walking over to Tiffany – and knocked her out with a quick chop to her neck. She crumpled to the metal as Chat and Ladybug gawked at her. She shrugged. "Well someone had to shut her up."

Melodic moans erupted from the air. The four of them looked around for the source, only to find that the sounds were coming from everywhere. Felix removed his tie pin, losing the superhero suit as he held it beside the brooch. Cammo flew out and looked up at him. "Why did you de-transform?! I can still help you! We have to stick together!"

Felix handed the miraculous to Ladybug. Lila handed Chat Noir his mother. "Lila and I will keep watch from the Eiffel Tower. We need you two to get down to the city, return the miraculous to Master Fu, and keep people from panicking. Anyone could be hearing these moans. We have to keep the peace as best we can, and no one can do it better than the heroes of Paris."

Chat Noir glanced at Cammo. "What about Gecko?"

Cammo and Felix shared a silent conversation. Then the Kwami sighed and sat down in the hand of Ladybug, clinging to the miraculous. "We are not meant to be permanent."

Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a look of confusion. Felix pointed back to the mansion. "Return Aunt Tiffany to the police and get the helicopter up here."

Chat gave Felix a thumbs up. "Good luck."

He gave his cousin a pat on the shoulder. "Same to you."

Lila winked at Ladybug. Ladybug smiled back. "Be careful." She led Chat Noir off the tower and back to the Agreste mansion, the miraculous and Tiffany in tow. Lila and Felix were alone in their agent outfits, watching the Mesmer slowly descend upon the city. Fairies were in the air all around them, watching and waiting for movement.

"…You know what will happen if the Mesmer drops over Paris, Felix."

"…We have to fix what Tiffany started, Lila."

"…This is such a cliché and you know it."

"…Sometimes clichés can save us from further pain."

"Do not get sentimental on me."

"Fine." He glanced at the bag she had carried up. "Then how about we just get to work?"

She unzipped the bag and pulled out two sleek beam guns, grinning. "I thought you would never ask-er, command."

 **Lila is so ready to get her fire power on ;) And yes, I know a lot of you are going to be thinking "he gave up the miraculous during the fight?! Is he insane?! Are YOU insane?!" Well, no..hopefully not. There is a reason he let him go that I will explain soon enough. For now, I can only hope you have enough faith in me as a writer to stick here until the end.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	36. Firing at Will

All throughout Paris the citizens were trapped within a nightmare. There were akumas popping up in every corner of the city. Lady Wifi and the Bubbler were wreaking havoc at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. Princess Fragrance and the Evillustrator were rampaging through the streets by the school. Puppeteer and Guitar Villain scared off wanderers by the television building. It was an inescapable army of enemies. The air was growing humid and heavy. People were best inside their houses and under their beds.

No one noticed the tiny flying creatures high in the sky.

No one but a duo of experienced agents.

Fairies took two forms and rarely exchanged them: good fairies remained small until needed, and evil fairies remained large until destroyed. The dozens of fairies above Paris were shrouded in the Mesmer, with sharpened wings and sharpened claws. Their beady eyes surveyed the chaos as Parisians wailed for help. Ladybug and Chat Noir desperately raced around every District, but it was impossible to stop every akuma. Every scream strengthened the Mesmer. Tiffany, Madame Paon, had succeeded.

Of course, she had not the skills to keep it permanent.

"Good evening, ladies," a human voice spoke to the invisible fairies, drawing their eyes towards a figure close by, "mind if I ask you a few questions?"

Lila stood a few feet below where the fairies hovered in the Mesmer – standing in mid-air. There was nothing beneath her heels and yet she walked around as though on solid ground. "I hope you like my kicks," she winked at no fairy in particular, "a specialty from S.P.I.E.S. that compresses air underfoot. Makes for a grand journey across the clouds."

One by one the fairies revealed themselves, pale skinned with messy black hair and shredded red and brown cloth hanging off their chests and hips. The aroma of wet bark and dandelions wafted off their skin. They bared their tiny fangs at her and grinned, speaking as one. "What brings you to our audience?"

"Where do I even begin? In a city where superheroes and villains are the norm, you fairies have decided to try your terribly untrimmed hands at taking over with your Mesmer and human slave. You have any idea how out of place your species is?"

"We belong everywhere. Humans are the ones out of place."

"Too bad," Lila pulled out her laser gun and aimed at the closest fairy, "cuz humans are staying." She blasted the fairy out of the sky. Around her appeared three dozen more with their claws all aimed at her neck. "Hope you girls brought your passports!"

Every fairy converged on her – just what she wanted. Lila grabbed another gun from behind her back and opened fire while spinning. Immediately a third of the fairies were down: there was no agents of S.P.I.E.S. with better accuracy than ex-agent Anvers. Every time a fairy came close to touching the fabric of her outfit she shot them away.

"Wonderful," she grinned, "I haven't had this much excitement in years!"

Not far from Lila on the other side of the Eiffel Tower, Felix faced his own gathering of fairies. With his dual guns aimed high he fired off round after round, fairies zipping and dipping every which way. For every fairy he shot down, three more took her place. "Come on," he muttered, "I asked for the helicopter ten minutes ago."

He could only hope Lila had her guns on 'stun' as he had instructed, because they were on their own until the rest of S.P.I.E.S. showed up. He gazed around at the fairies, trying to find whoever was in charge. Fairies worked in clans and hordes, but there was always a leader. Either an elder or a larger fairy…someone who stayed back for observation rather than taking to the attack head on. Someone trying to keep just out of sight…!

To his left.

Felix ducked under a duo of fairies aiming for his ears and jumped back out of the group. Both guns were pointed at a fairy in the distance. Her hair was in a pigtail and her clothing was more refined with gold trimming, but she had the same fangs and claws and glistening wings.

Their eyes locked. Their breathing fell in sync. She grinned.

"Only a fool gives up their miraculous."

Felix was fully aware she was trying to hypnotize him with her melodic voice. It was the reason he had sent Cammo away – fairies could not fall for illusions. The Kwami would have been in more danger. He kept his senses sharp and on cue so not to fall asleep and fall to his death. It would be highly unprofessional. "It sounds as if you believe I cannot handle you without a miraculous."

"I know about you agents," she flew closer, the rest of the fairies giving them plenty of space, "and I know you favour our cousins as they live amongst humans in peace and hiding. How can I ever respect you?"

"I never asked for respect. I ask that you and your cohorts leave Paris before S.P.I.E.S. forcefully evacuates your species."

It was the perfect time for the helicopter to show up. It flew up behind Felix, casting light over him and the fairy leader. Her followers hissed and fluttered out of range as the choppers sped up. The speaker clicked on.

"FAIRIES. EVACUATE PARIS BOARDERS IMMEDIATELY. S.P.I.E.S. HAS GATHERED 97% OF YOUR POPULATION AND IS CURRENTLY RELOCATING THEM TO AMERICA FOR REHABILITATION. COME IN PEACE AND THERE WILL BE NO FUTHER CASUALTIES."

The leader gave her own hiss, a venomous crackling that erupted from her throat. "You have no idea what we can do!"

Felix sighed and lowered his guns ever so slightly. "We have decades of experience dealing with your kind. You have no way of intimidating us-"

"I mean the miraculous! You can send us fairies away, but the wielders will always face danger, even greater than our own magic!" She pointed an accusing finger at Felix. "You may have been able to give up your powers, but those who cannot and will not shall face countless trials thanks to the curse of the Kwami!"

 **Something about what the fairy is saying may just start to mess with Felix. What can he say to her? Is he willing to leave his own cousin with the Kwami, even if it means constant danger for him and Marinette? HawkMoth may not be the only villain out there, and there will always be trouble for them to face. He better make his choice quick, because one slice at those gorgeous shoes, and it's a long way down...**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	37. Pop, Crackle, Snap

Felix had never thought about what dangers Adrien and Marinette would be facing once he was back in America. HawkMoth may have been taken down, and Madame Paon never had a chance to truly hurt the duo, but there would always be criminals, especially those who were looking for the Kwami specifically.

The fairy leader, before him and the helicopter behind, sneered. "You get it now. If you take me and the other fairies away, there will be no one to protect your heroes. We can cause plenty of trouble, but we can also be excellent allies. Unlike our peaceful cousins in those atrocious cities like New York," she shivered, "and the like, our powers and limitations do not hold to morals. If you want to keep your friends safe," she fluttered closer until their faces were inches apart, "then all you have to do is call off your agents. I vow to keep your heroes safe so long as you allow us to remain in Paris."

The helicopter was repeating its warning, but Felix was lost in his own thoughts. He heard next to nothing as he thought about what she was offering. A peaceful solution to what could become a violent conflict. Adrien would be under their protection. Fairies were some of the most powerful creatures in the world. If anyone could keep Ladybug and Chat Noir safe, it was a pack of fairies. All he had to do was call off the evacuation…

And give up everything he and the others had been working for.

"You and your thick Mesmer voice."

His guns were aimed on either side of her head, ready to blast straight through her ears should he let his fingers slip. "Ladybug and Chat Noir can fight for themselves. All you ever do is create chaos. Your Mesmer is the _real_ enemy. You need to leave."

The fairy leader sighed. The Mesmer in her voice vanished. In place was a deep wisdom that was wasted on plans of takeover. "That was your last chance."

"No," he gave her a smirk reminiscent of Chat Noir, "this was _your_ last chance."

He aimed his guns into the air above her and fired. Two shots of electricity shot into the Mesmer and began to spread like eels. Across the Eiffel Tower, Lila shot off her own electricity. Soon every inch of the Mesmer was filled with electric waves. Felix jumped back beside the helicopter. "If I were you, I would move away from the tower." Then he slipped inside. The fairy leader watched as he flew away with the other agents. They drove through the fairies, picked Lila up, and flew higher over the Mesmer.

"Fools," the leader screamed at the helicopter, "you cannot outrun us!"

Lila and Felix held onto the edges of the helicopter door and peered down at the fairies. Lila glanced at Felix. "Should we at least tell them?"

"How kind of you."

She shrugged before leaning out of the helicopter. Felix had to hold her by the waist while she cupped her hands around her mouth. "You should know that isn't regular electricity!"

The fairies all tilted their heads in unison. Lila sighed.

"We just shot your Mesmer full of modified LIGHTNING!"

The fairies also all gasped in unison. Only the leader let out a terrible wail of defeat. Lila actually had the heart to point at the Eiffel Tower. "Hope you guys know-"

 _BOOM!_

The fully lightning-resistant helicopter flew out of range as the lightning exploded around the top of the tower, sending a blinding light out over the city. The Mesmer carried the shock throughout Paris, not only destroying the illusions of the akumas, but also knocking out every fairy, even the powerful leader. The pilot spoke into his headphone.

"BRING OUT THE NETS!"

In seconds the skies of Paris were covered in helicopters, all disguised as news crews. They were spreading out nets and catching all the falling fairies. Lila and Felix watched the quick work and felt the air thin out. The Mesmer was finally dissipating. She once again gave Felix a glance. "It would seem that you accomplished your mission, Agent Agreste."

"My mission was to retrieve the miraculous. This was just…side work."

"How honest of you."

"Thanks."

She playfully nudged his arm as their helicopter began to descend. The skies were clear, and they could see Ladybug and Chat Noir standing on a nearby building. Chat looked up and gave Felix a friendly wave. Felix did not wave back.

"Telling Ms. Hiarthanu that I intend to leave the miraculous with two amateur students will be the hardest part of my failed mission."

Lila put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. "Ms. Hiarthanu sent you here to make sure the miraculous were in capable hands. Mission accomplished."

Felix hoped so. He actually placed his faith on hope. He could not check the facts. Either he had completed the mission…

Or he was going to be the only agent not returning home.

* * *

Most of the helicopters went straight back to America to drop the fairies off, not wasting any time with idle chat. The only helicopter to stay was the one that landed by the mansion. Lila and Felix hopped down and ran inside through the hole she had previously blown up. Inside was Ladybug, Chat Noir, Mr. and Mrs. Agreste, an equally confused bodyguard and secretary, and a couple police officers. Ladybug held the three miraculous without wearers: the satanic leaf-tailed gecko, the peacock and the butterfly. Felix led Lila over to the side of the heroes as the head officer, a bigger man with red hair, flipped to the next page of his notebook.

"Okay. Let me get this straight: Mr. Agreste was HawkMoth this entire time. Mrs. Agreste was wandering the city like a lunatic this entire time. Fairies exist?!"

Chat Noir glanced at Felix. "Now what?"

Felix and Lila exchanged a knowing look. Then he slowly reached into his pocket.

"Now…we take a nice, long nap."

 _SNAP-SNAP-SNAP!_

 **You guys ever see Men in Black? Yeah, I may be taking a page from their book here. The work of an agent is never done, but that also means that the dangers they face will always be out there. What can Felix and Lila do to control the entire city now that everyone has seen giant nets catching fairies over their rooftops? Guess you're gonna have to stay tuned as this story wraps itself up ;)**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	38. Tea Break

**ONE WEEK LATER**

Felix, Lila, Marinette, Adrien and Master Fu sat around a circular table in the massage parlor. Tikki and the other Kwami were settled on the table, eating cookies. Cammo kept offering her all his chocolate chips, to which she giggled and gratefully accepted. Plagg pretended to spit up as Wayzz nodded his approval. They drank their tea and ate in silence.

For about ten minutes.

"Boring," Plagg groaned, "boring, boring, _boring_!"

Master Fu chuckled and set down his tea before addressing the group. "Plagg is correct. We have come together to go over the cleanup of your last fight."

Lila nodded with a smile. "Everyone, save for those inside this room and the agents of S.P.I.E.S., have had all of their memories of the past month - anything associated with Gecko and the fairies - wiped. No one suspects a thing."

Cammo mumbled something but no one heard.

"Mr. Agreste had his memories wiped," Marinette added, "so while he and everyone else knows HawkMoth existed, he has no idea he himself was the villain. Now HawkMoth is gone for good. Nooroo and the peacock Kwami are currently sleeping in your Victrola, right?"

Master Fu nodded. "They will be resting for a while until their powers are returned to normal levels. I will find heroes for them with your help later."

"Exciting!"

Felix put his finished tea cup down and glanced at Lila. "With your assistance, we were able to not only find appropriate heroes for the miraculous, but were able to return Mrs. Agreste back home. I do hope you were rightly paid for your work, even as an ex-agent."

Lila smirked – and pulled out a silver badge from her pocket, waving it around for the others to awe at. "Turns out they need a permanent agent in Paris with undercover skills."

Adrien gave her a smile, though Felix could tell there were hints of sadness at the corners. "You deserve the recognition."

"Forget recognition. I get to be on the payroll again!"

"Tell me, Adrien," Fu asked, "how is life at home with both parents together again?"

Adrien's smile faded. He put his tea cup on the table as his gaze fell to his knees. Marinette and the others patiently waited for his response.

"…Mother and father are spending a lot of time together now that she came back. She can't seem to remember where she's been all this time, but father couldn't care less. We eat dinner together every night. It really is just like before…except," he frowned, "I know the truth." He looked over at Felix. "I know father is actually a criminal. Why has S.P.I.E.S. not arrested him yet? Why is he allowed to keep working from home?"

Felix gestured to Lila. "Ms. Hiarthanu has agreed to house arrest without his knowledge. Agent Anvers-er, Agent Rossi, will be watching over his movements. Besides, with you and Marinette and Master Fu around the city, and the fact that he was in a state of grief, S.P.I.E.S. has decided that keeping him home is the best option."

Adrien sat for a moment. Then he stood up and left the parlor. Marinette sighed. "I should have known he would be taking it hard." He rose to go after him until Lila grabbed her arm. The new agent shot Felix a look.

"Let Felix handle this."

Felix stood and left the parlor, shutting the door behind him. He walked through the hallway and exited the building. He found Adrien leaning against the wall, staring at the empty road. Felix stood beside him and enjoyed the peaceful view.

"…Felix?"

"Yes?"

"Did you ever think of erasing my memories?"

Felix recalled his last conversation with Ms. Hiarthanu on his phone, only an hour after the police had their memories wiped.

 _"You believe your cousin and this Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be responsible enough to handle the miraculous? Fine. Remember, though, that you are responsible for their memories being kept intact. Should they ever let something slip, it could ruin all that we've cleaned up."_

Felix could feel the weight of her words, her warning, on his shoulders. Still…he felt no guilt. He knew he had made the right choice. "My decision of leaving your memories to you, Marinette and Lila is a sign of my trust in your abilities. Do not make me regret this."

Adrien grinned. "I promise…so, about father-"

"He made a mistake. As did your hypnotized mother. Let them make up for it."

"…Okay. I should go back inside. I would never want Marinette to worry." He opened the door of the building. "You coming?"

"In a moment."

Adrien gave him a nod and left him alone. Felix sighed and rubbed his wrists. He was still a bit sore from the fight with HawkMoth. The strength he had as a villain really made a mark. Soon he would be home, though, his mission completed. Ms. Hiarthanu had accepted his explanation with near flying colours.

 _"You approved of the miraculous heroes in Paris. You led the capture of an entire clan of rogue fairies. You brought back an ex-agent and renewed her faith in our organization. There is plenty of potential in you. You are needed back in the department."_

He was going home at last. Everything was returning to normal, especially with Aunt Tiffany being back home.

"Felix?"

Cammo was on his shoulder, having phased through the building and now out of sight from any passerbyers. Felix glanced down at the Kwami and noted his worried expression. "I assume you came out here to chat about your fate."

"Master Fu says I can stay with him and the rest of the Kwami in the parlor as long as I need, but that also means that I no longer have a partner." Cammo almost had a puppy face as he looked up at Felix. "What does this mean for us?"

"What do you mean?" Though Felix already knew the answer. He knew he would have to face the truth now before anything else happened.

Cammo stare at him for a long moment. "…What happens to Gecko now?"

 **And so, as I post the third-to-last chapter here today, we finally wrap things up for Felix Agreste and his work in Paris for the mysterious S.P.I.E.S. How will his decisions affect his time as Gecko, though? Come the next and final chapter, you guys will have to see just where Felix is heading now that HawkMoth has been defeated and Aunt Tiffany is home, safe and sound.**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	39. Agent Farewell

Felix was catching his ride to the airport at the front of the Agreste mansion. He stood on the sidewalk with his luggage at his side. Lila and Marinette were on either side of him, waiting for the limousine to show up. Adrien soon joined them with Plagg and Cammo in his shoulders. "I hope you have a comfortable ride home. Wish you could have stayed longer."

Cammo had a quivering lip. "I wish I could go with you."

Felix sadly shook his head. It really had been an interesting time being a miraculous holder. "It will be hard finding a partner like you, Cammo, but…you belong here. With other Kwami. Until we can find your original family, Lila will make sure you're cared for."

Lila nudged Marinette and the girls giggled. "You can hang out with me at my house whenever Fu and the others are busy."

Cammo wiped away a loose tear. Then he held his tiny hand out to Felix. "It was an honour to be able to work with an agent."

Felix gently shook the tiny hand. "The honour was all mine. I know you will be able to locate a new partner soon."

Tikki flew over and pat Cammo on the shoulder. "You can always come over and talk…for as long as you like." She took his hand and the duo blushed. Plagg once again began to pretend puke. Adrien rolled his eyes.

Marinette made an 'aww' sound before glancing at the mansion door, fixed by the agents while they had been out wiping all the memories. "Hide, Kwami! The Agrestes are coming!" She made a wild gesture with her hands as the three Kwami ducked into her purse, smushed together while she clicked it shut.

The front doors of the mansion were wide open. Mrs. Agreste skipped outside in a bright blue dress and a pair of white flats, hair in a pigtail. She gave the group a friendly wave. "Hello!"

Adrien gave Felix a worried glance, but Felix returned with a comforting nod. He finally had his mother back. What she did while under the control of the fairies could not ruin it. Mrs. Agreste ran over and gave Adrien a big hug. "You look so handsome today!"

"Thank you, mother."

Mr. Agreste was right behind her, wearing his usual white suit and ascot. He pat Adrien on the shoulder. "Thank you for helping Felix with his luggage."

"Of course, father." He hugged Mr. Agreste, and for the first time in a while, Felix knew it felt real for the both of them. "He can come back anytime, though, right?"

Mr. Agreste smiled at Felix. "Naturally. Now that we are a whole family again," he firmly pulled Mrs. Agreste close, "we can prepare for anything."

Marinette leaned over to Felix while the Agrestes hugged. "Did you get everything you wanted from Master Fu?"

"I received enough, and Lila will be keeping up communications between us."

Finally the limousine rolled up in front of the group. Mr. Agreste placed the luggage in the trunk as Mrs. Agreste kissed Felix on the forehead. "I remember."

He and Lila froze. "…You do?"

She smiled back at the duo. "I remember the way you used to run into my arms one final time before heading home. I suppose you grew up while I was away…wherever I was." She gave him a quick squeeze. "I will miss you." She whispered into his ear. "I still miss Cordelia."

Felix hugged her back. He gave her a real hug. "I miss her too." When he pulled back he noted how she was wiping away a tear. He could tell her the truth then and there, but it would mean revealing everything they had cleared up. "…I'm sure she's safe now."

She smiled. "I hope so."

Mr. Agreste shook his hand once the luggage was packed. "Good luck this year at school."

"I'll be sure to update you as regularly as I can."

Lila gave his side a nudge and smirked. "Call me now and again."

"When I have time between missions."

"No, call me during missions. I miss the sound of field work."

Marinette gave him her biggest smile. "Thank you for letting us in on our secrets. We can make our bonds even stronger now." She took Adrien by the hand. "We promise to keep Paris safe from whoever decides to take a certain someone's place."

The Agreste cocked their eyebrows as Felix nodded. "Lila will be watching you."

Adrien stepped up beside Felix. "Thank you for coming, and for trusting us."

Felix opened his mouth to give his cousin a warning…and then he smiled. "I have the upmost faith in you."

"Really?"

"Of course. Do keep your act up so I don't get fired."

Lila opened the limousine door and Felix slipped inside. He shut the door and watched as the group waved him off. Cammo peeked out of the purse and waved alongside them. The limousine pulled away and began its trek to the airport. He leaned back against the seat and felt for the tie pin. It was no longer there.

The flat screen popped down and blinked on. In the S.P.I.E.S. main laboratory sat Ms. Hiarthanu and Mr. Noital. The head of the organization gave him a smile, 10% prideful and the rest made up of I-still-sign-off-your-paycheck smugness. "Excellent work, Agent Agreste. Your mission is accomplished. Return home immediately."

Mr. Noital was pouting. "Why did you have to go and leave the Kwami?! We can't seem to get our hands on any others!"

Felix sat back and waited for Ms. Hiarthanu to give the researcher an answer, only to realize that his leader was waiting for him to explain his actions. He sighed and looked back to Mr. Noital. "You really want to know everything that happened? Because only then will you get why I just gave up one of the most powerful weapons in the world."

Mr. Noital reached off camera and pulled back a bag of popcorn. "With the amount you like to talk, I am so ready for this."

Felix sighed again, but he could hardly contain a smile. "It began a month ago when you-"

"Skip what I know!"

"No can do. You need all the facts."

It's what Cammo would have wanted.

 **It feels weird already posting the penultimate chapter of this story. To think it all ends on Monday for us! And yes, I have decided that Felix will leave Cammo in Paris with the others. Unfortunately the work of an agent would never really blend with the life of a Kwami. Trust me, though that there will be more for Cammo back with Tikki and the others ;)**

 **Until the next chapter!**


	40. Letter Sendoff with Love

**TWO MONTHS LATER**

Every agent of S.P.I.E.S. had their own small office in the building hidden close to Area 51. Felix sat at his small white desk and gazed over all the notes he had taken about his mission in Paris. The view outside the window was of nothing but dirt; being hidden away in a crevice of dry ground left _everything_ to be desired.

A knock at the door brought him out of the paragraphs of endless text. A messenger walked in, placed an envelope on his desk, and stepped back into the hallway, all without a sound being uttered on their part. Such were the ways of veterans. Felix opened the envelope and found a tiny note inside. _Literally_ tiny – it had been folded at least two dozen times.

"Honestly," he muttered as he unfolded the letter and flattened it out, "some people have little taste when it comes to subtlety…?"

The letter had familiar handwriting, and as Felix read over the first few lines, he felt a warmth in his chest.

" _Dear Agent Agreste,_

 _It has been way too long since we last talked! We cousins have to stick together, you know, and I want to make sure you keep safe on your missions. Mom, dad and I are doing well here. We have monthly picnics with the Bourgeois' and Dupain-Cheng's (guess who brings the baked goods)! You were right about letting things be – my family is finally back together_!"

Felix glanced out the window. The dirt reminded him of the Grand Canyon too often. His own family would always weigh on his shoulders. At least Adrien had his back to normal…as normal as Agrestes could get.

" _Anyway, things are a bit less hectic in Paris now that HawkMoth has 'mysteriously' vanished. Marinette and I are always saving the city, of course, but no more akumas to fear! Lila is great with training. She teaches us something new every day_!"

Felix would have to make sure she wasn't revealing too many trade secrets. Agent Rossi was one of the slipperiest in the business.

" _Master Fu is giving us lessons on the Kwami now. No homework – bonus! Soon the rest and I will be our own masters! Cammo wishes you well, by the way, and thanks for letting him stay. At first he was really down, but now we have a wonderful team_!"

Felix cocked an eyebrow. He had no idea there was a team. Lila had never said anything in her weekly updates.

" _Inside the envelope should be a photo my friend Alya took. I hope you can put it up somewhere! You have to come back soon!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Agent Noir + Bugaboo_."

Felix put the letter aside and pulled out a single photograph from the envelope. When he looked it over a sense of confidence grew in him. Adrien and Marinette sat in the massage parlor, Fu off in the corner. Their Kwami sat on their shoulders. Beside Adrien, however, now sat Chloe and Nino from his class, with the yellow and green Kwami on their knees respectively. Marinette had Alya and Sabrina beside her, with the fox and butterfly Kwami on their heads. Strewn out on the floor was Juleka, the peacock Kwami resting on her wrist. Standing behind the entire group was Lila, a huge grin on her face.

Cammo on her shoulder, waving right at the camera. Right at Felix.

They had found their team of miraculous heroes. Paris was officially in safe hands. He put the envelope in the trash and stored the letter and photo away in a bottom drawer, where they would be safe. He went back to his notes with restored confidence. When he returned for vacation, a real vacation, he would bring them new stories.

S.P.I.E.S. was certainly not down with Agent Agreste.

 **END**

 **I am so glad you all enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it! I always wanted to do something with a James Bond feel, and Felix was the perfect character to use, right? Not to mention how fun it was to include Lila. And yes, for now, I have no plans for a sequel - at least, not in the miraculous ladybug universe. However, as the Zagtoon animated universe continues to expand, who know where Agent Agreste will go. Fighting with fairies in New York? Studying ghosts with hunters? Travelling to other dimensions where fairy tales are superheroes?**

 **Thanks for reading, and until the next story!**


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